Antidote to my Poison
by TheShadows911
Summary: Crona is plagued by premonitions from Madusa, while Kid is drowned by his father's duties and 'popularity'. Trying to find peace in their newly hectic lives they find common ground, providing each other with security and sanity. Anime Based.
1. Odd Meeting

**Authors Note: Finished! Finally! Truth be told I have become a major Soul Eater fan, and I wanted to write something new! So I decided to shake things up a little and try my hand at writing something sweet, traumatic and loveable at the same time!**

**IMPORTANT: Major Credit to 'Sonicgirl582' u/2449037/Sonicgirl582. She helped me a whole lot and spared her time by gratefully correcting each chapter, she is a fantastic fanfiction writer covering genre's like Mario, Rayman, Okami, Harry Potter and Sonic the Hedgehog, she is 10x better then I am! Also she's a great artist too!**

**Okay now back to this story. Crona is MALE in this fanfiction. Yes yes I know a lot of people see her as female, but the problem is I first watched the dubbed anime, which every. single. character states Crona as 'HE', it's now permanently engraved into my brain. Also, Crona and Kid _haven't _had prolonged contact until this point, yes they did have that party in the anime, but just pretend that never happened okay! So this is a story about friendship, and maybe something more~ Enjoy! R&R!**

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><p>Everyone had gathered within the death room, bruised, broken and exhausted, but truly positive. The Kishin Asura had been defeated by Maka's remarkable determination and courage, with help from the whole DWMA, including Lord Death himself. His son, Death the Kid, was staggering around the hall like a zombie: not like Sid, not like a fatherly, loud, blue skinned muscular beast with a hole in his head, more like the ones that <em>didn't<em> come back to life by the hands of a mad scientist.

He glanced around the room until he found a nice quiet place to sit and rest, he could lean against the sky painted wall. He assumed it was a wall, it could be the horizon reaching into the distance and the wall was never to be found, but figuring that the 'sky' had been knocked down behind him, he assured himself it was there. Spinning on a heel his back hit the wall and he slunk down until he was sitting, he let out a much needed sigh, finally relaxing and allowing his mind to rest at ease without his weapons bickering by his side.

It took him a while to realise he was actually sitting next to someone, lolling his head to glance; it was Crona, small and frail, blending into the background seamlessly. His obsidian eyes transfixed on nothing more than the people on the other side of the room, he was hunched up, almost as if he was hiding. "Hey," He called, not expecting his voice to sound so weak. He cleared his throat and called again "Hey!" This time catching the boy's attention.

Crona shifted, registering that he was being called, slowly turning to his right where a pure gold eyed reaper sat, he was slumped, clearly hurt and exhausted, his clothes in tatters and his silk skin littered with gashes and cuts.

"Your name is Crona, isn't it?"

Crona blinked, the boy was remarkably calm for the state he was in, but he simply hummed a nod.

Kid watched Crona's deep eyes dart around, trying to look anywhere without engaging eye contact "Are you okay?" He asks.

"Nn," Crona jumps slightly, biting the inside of his lip, trying to gather up the little courage he had "…I-I'm just not that good at dealing with new people." He explains half-heartedly, feeling shameful of his nerves.

Kid could see how tense Crona was, curling deeper into his ball of self-doubt. He felt the urge to pull him out and cleared his throat, "Ah, but you see I am not new, I am positive we clashed on a hideous ghost ship."

Crona's memory snapped back. He could barely remember those times, his vision and perception having been clouded by darkness and madness. "I remember," He sighed, "I did things differently back then."

Kid's eyebrow furrowed, he had only worsened the purple haired boy's depression. "And rightly so," Kid struck a smile, "I believe my father took you in refuge after you courageously disowned yourself from that witch mother of yours."

Crona's interest suddenly peaked. "You're Lord Death's son?"

"Correct," He held out a hand. "Death the Kid, it is a pleasure to finally meet you." He watched as Crona's eye's sparked with light and a smile tugged lightly at his lips.

Crona placed three fingers atop Kid's hand and then withdrew again, silence shrouded them, Crona's mind buzzed with things he wanted to say, and eventually he took the easy way out.

"My blood is black y'know," He mumbled.

"Oh…" Unsure on how to respond, it was the only word that left Kid's lips. Until suddenly a thought crossed his mind and he continued. "Wait, aren't you a demon weapon meister? Where is your weapon?"

As Kid asked Crona's eyes suddenly became narrow, turning a shade the same as his hair, his face and muscles strained as a blast of pain shot through his body, and a fellow being erupted from his shoulder blades. "Ha! Meister? Crona can't even tie his own shoes! Isn't that right ya' dummy!" The black and white creature practically yelled in an ear-clenching high pitched tone, before starting to bash his gloved fist's into Crona's head.

"Ow! Quit it Ragnarok! That hurts! Stop it!" Crona flailed, trying to defend himself from something that was ultimately attached to him.

Ragnarok's golf ball eyes soon turned to Kid. "Listen here stripe-boy, Crona is my human shield, and I'm the one calling the shots around here!"

Kid was too dazed to listen. "Such beauty!" He bellowed, causing Ragnarok to twist his head in confusion. Gold eyes glistened, fixated on the beast before him. "Such perfect symmetry this creature has! I have never seen another living creature like it; I could fold you in half with such ease. Oh, how glorious!"

"Heh, you're strange weirdo," Ragnarok chuckled, redirecting his attention back to Crona. "Hey Crona, we should keep this guy. He's pretty good with the compliments, don't ya' think?"

"It's a deal, oh shining black beauty!" Kid cupped Ragnarok's face. Getting his fingers bitten by the same creature he found so cute, he shook his hands off, hissing at the pain.

"Sorry!" Crona apologised. "Ragnarok doesn't really deal well with being touched."

"Ah yes, I know that now." Kid clenched his hands under his armpits, masking the pain with a hearty grin. Unfortunately Crona didn't find the same humour in the situation, but before Kid had the opportunity to lighten his mood, the room exploded with cheers and laughter.

Crona's eyes were drawn to the noise to realise Maka had entered the room with a hero's welcome, she had less injuries than Kid and was beaming with triumph and satisfaction followed by her casual weapon partner. Crona watched as the clapping continued, his ear pricking as Kid joined in, revealing the wound he had sustained to his chest. It caused Crona to swallow thickly and force his gaze away.

Kid used his elbows against the wall to push himself to his feet, wanting to join his friends, but he found it difficult to properly balance.

Crona watched him struggle long enough; he stood and went to help, but stopped midway. With his hands hovering inches from Kid's blood soaked clothing, it seemed like he stood there for minutes, until Kid bluntly closed the distance. An arm was slung around Crona's feeble shoulders as Kid hung his weight from them, the quick reaction to lock his knees in place the only thing that kept him from catapulting to the ground. Despite Crona's new grip on Kid's shirt, he could feel the male slipping, and just couldn't prevent him from falling to the floor anyway.

"Sorry," Crona grimaced. "I-I'm not very strong, I can't deal with much weight-" He was stopped midsentence, Kid was laughing.

Kid chuckled, his own weakness providing his humour. "Here," He held out a hand, "Give me a hand up?"

Crona complied, but as their hands connected he wasn't expecting Kid to yank straight away and he quickly suffered from the same fate. Face down on the floor, all he could hear was Kid's laughter. How could Kid be so positive with such pain immobilising him.

"Hey Kid, Hey Crona," The enthusiastic Maka graced the unfortunate two with her presence. "Why are you on the floor?"

"Hello Maka." Crona raised his head enough to make eye contact.

Kid watched as Crona's expression changed with the entrance of Maka: it resembled something dreadfully close to happiness. He quickly decided an explanation for their current state was in order, "I voted for a spot of cloud-gazing."

"Really? You should've told Crona he was facing the wrong way then," A snarky comment jumped in, Soul owning the cocky remark, his fanged teeth shining.

Maka raised Crona back to his feet by his shoulders. "Give them some slack Soul, who wouldn't want to just rest on the floor? I know I do!"

Kid, not wanting to be the odd one out, sat up, but it caused an explosion of pain in his middle, instinctively causing him to clutch his wound and hiss.

"Are you okay Kid?" Maka asked. Concerned, she knelt down and pulled his arms away, both soaked in fresh blood from a re-opened wound. Her eyebrows furrowed. "Kid you should get this treated."

"No," He cringed. "I'll be fine for a while."

"Meh, let the baby whine, he ain't no star—not like _me!_" A beaming Star walked in, his hands resting behind his head.

"I wasn't whining you blue fool, and like always you just find any excuse to steal someone's attention—in this case _needed_ attention," Kid spoke light-heartedly, not wanting to completely offend a friend. "Besides it is your fault I'm in this state."

"What?! BlackStar how could you do this?" Maka gasped, surprised by her friend's treachery.

"He's lying I totally had his back," He darted to a defensive stance, acting out the scenario: "There I was, facing the Kishin, shielding Kid with my body…" Stretching his arms and legs out in the shape of a star, he smirked with his next words, "I must've blinded Asura with my awesomeness, or his attack bounced of my stardom, because before I knew it Kid was on the floor crying like a wuss. Isn't that right Tsubaki?!"

"More or less." Tsubaki waved her right to stay out of BlackStar's grovelling.

"You lying idiot! You did no such thing, you stood idly by as I took a full blown attack!" Kid yelled as BlackStar made heroic poses.

"Whoa, are you okay Crona?" Soul's sudden remark caught everyone's attention; their eye's set on the now paler Crona.

Crona held his head in his palm, his mind felt like static, his whole body slowly turning numb and his skin coming out in cold sweats.

Maka stood, placing a soft hand on his shoulder. "Crona?"

Crona opened his eyes, even though the lids felt heavy. "Maka..." He smiled.

"What's wrong with him?" BlackStar huffed, not convinced.

"It might be because of the Kishin," Soul stated with a shrug.

Maka's eyebrows furrowed, was he instigating she had left something out? "What do you mean, Soul?"

"Well think about it, for a long time Crona's been lost in madness. Since we defeated the Kishin, there isn't any left," Soul explained, making a good point.

Maka considered this as she looked back to Crona. "Is that it Crona? You don't have to rely on that stuff anymore, you have us."

Crona smiled, reassured by Maka's kind words, but he couldn't help his sudden weakness.

"Thank you," Was all Crona could mutter, before everything faded to black.

Kid lunged forwards, catching Crona as he fell.

"Hey!" Maka called to the other side of the room. "We need a nurse!"

…

_"Crona…Crona!"_

_I woke to the call, jumping up from my presumed sleeping state. Shivering and wiping my nose, I listen to the echo of the voice that chanted my name, feeling an unmistakable jolt of fear, but also a familiar soothing purr. Why is this voice so, so…I almost feel sick; feeling an impending dread. Out of the darkness came a slimy voice again._

_"Crona darling, it's time to get up, you have yet to kill the little one…"_

_Half-dazed, I followed the light. What is this? Why am I here? Such questions my mind dodged to answer, for everything was hazy, almost like a trance, a dream? Soon I was walking down a black and white tile corridor, creating the illusion that it carried on for miles, yet I emerged on the other side, facing a little creature._

_"Do it, Crona. You don't want to go back in the darkness do you?"_

_I stared at the small animal long enough for Ragnarok to emerge, back into the form of madness, the form before Lord Death took the souls he had eaten away—__**Wait**__, that's right! I'm in the DWMA, under the care of Lord Death, Miss Marie, Maka, Soul, BlackStar, Tsubaki and…Kid. Then why am I here?_

_"Don't listen to your head Crona, not that tiny brain of yours; you know you want to kill it," Ragnarok spoke. Shockingly, his voice sounded deeper: much more menacing._

_"No," I refuse._

_"What did you say?" The voice from before returned with a hiss._

_I watched in horror as from a table to the right slithered a snake with black and yellow patterns, the sight causing my very being to be engulfed in fear. It cannot be, it cannot!_

_"M-Madusa," I dare to utter my mother's name and beyond the odds the snake seems to smirk. "But you're dead."_

_"Ah hah, well I thought you were too, but life is full of surprises," She seamlessly slithered from the table, and slowly crawled up Crona's body. "But I will never truly die, not when you're around."_

_I swallow harshly, cringing at the feeling of mother wrapping around my body, her grip slowly growing tighter. "What do you mean?"_

_"You're my child, Crona. So no matter how hard you try, you cannot change that fact." _

_My eyes dart as she speaks, her snake eyes staring directly into mine. The walls ooze a substance resembling both blood and oil and I shiver as it pools around my feet._

_"You might have Ragnarok's blood…"_

_All I could see were those deadly eyes: eyes of madness, eyes of mother, and somewhere, faintly, my own staring back at me._

_"But you'll always have my snake skin."_

_…_

Crona suddenly jolts up from his sleeping state; Medusa's word's still spiralling in his mind, but her image slowly dissipating into what his eyes truly viewed. Quickly grasping his hands together, his skin felt like cold, slimy scales for a moment, but upon closer inspection he found skin was unchanged. It was his normal, un-freckled flesh.

"You were twitching in your sleep."

Crona almost jumped. His eye's darting to the side, he found it was Kid. A wave of relief washed over him; it was all just a dream.

Kid gave a small smile as he spoke once more, "I hear it's bad for someone to be woken from a bad dream, sorry I couldn't help."

Kid looked better than before; he had been cleaned up and bandaged from waist to chest, a faint soaking of blood staining the mid-section. He did still look exhausted though. As he talked, his gaze never changed from looking straight ahead: he seemed so distant and down-heartened, possibly due to blood-loss. Crona forced himself to swallow his insecurity's down.

"T-That's okay," Crona fumbled. As Kid didn't give any indication that he had heard, he felt the obligation to help the mood just as Kid had done moments before. "Do you ever have bad dreams?"

The other frowned in response. Of course, Crona's conversation starters were always dark in some way.

"As a reaper, I can experience and accomplish things a human cannot…" Kid sighed, his mood was so grim, no pun intended. "It can sometimes affect me in my dreams."

"Oh," Crona muttered.

Kid was frustrated, and forced himself to cheer up, at least for Crona's sake. "It's disgusting!" He suddenly bellowed, watching Crona jump in the corner of his eye. "Everything in that cabinet, it's _all_ out-of-line! Why make a cabinet glass when there is nothing pleasing to see through it!" He chuckled at the end of his rant, already feeling ten times better.

Crona swung his legs to the side of the bed, hopping to his wobbly but soon stable feet, and walked over to the cabinet that owned Kid's gaze. He opened the doors, picking up a stray bottle of medication then faced Kid. "Urm, w-where would you like this one to go?"

Kid blinked, surprised my Crona's kind gesture. He decided to humour the boy, "Top shelf, far left. And you see that yellow one? Yes that one; put that one next to the big blue one." They went on for a couple of minutes, Kid enthusiastically ordering poor stumbling Crona around. Of course, he wouldn't if Crona was uncomfortable with it, but the quiet boy seemed just as happy as Kid was. Well, as happy as Crona could get anyway.

"Kid, Kid!" Just as the cabinet was becoming almost perfectly symmetrical, a blond headache danced in with her sister following, but her sister just walked like a normal person.

"Patty, Liz." Kid smiled as they entered, he was soon embraced much too hard by Patty.

"Oh-my-gosh, I was so worried! I cried for two hours straight when I found out!" Patty's death grip on Kid didn't let out; she chanted her words almost as if crying was an achievement.

"It's no lie, she did." Liz sat calmly by Kid's side, ruffling her innocent sister's hair.

"Yeah and Liz was pacing around like a mad-woman! You should've seen her!" Patty fell into a fit of laughter.

Liz's cheeks flashed red; she denied every word her sister said.

Crona couldn't help a tiny smile tug at his lips as he watched the three of them. They were all just so good together: they could laugh and joke and play, and he wished he had that chemistry with someone. Even he and Maka didn't hold a bond as strong as Kid with his weapons.

"Oh, sorry Crona," Kid got back on track. "This is Patty and Liz, my duel weapons."

"It's nice to meet you." Crona bowed slightly, only for his body to give a sudden jolt as Ragnarok came out unannounced.

Both Patty and Liz gasped at the scene, while Kid stayed undeterred.

"It's… It's," Patty stuttered, her eyes transfixed on the small beast. "It's so… _Cute!"_ She jumped up to go touch it.

"Eww Patty, don't touch that thing, it's so creepy!" Liz squirmed.

"Patty be careful, he does bite," Kid warned, but there was no stopping the blonde cowgirl.

Crona backed away, fearing he might harm the girl, but she was fast and before he knew it she was petting Ragnarok. Crona clenched his eyes shut, expecting her to wail in pain when Ragnarok did something he shouldn't, but there was no such thing. All he could hear was Patty's coos.

"Ah yeah, right there, little to the left—yeah that's the spot," Ragnarok purred, getting a good scratch behind the ear if he had one.

Crona looked up, pleasantly surprised to find Ragnarok behaving well.

Kid smiled, happy to see it too, but could also see the fear and uncertainty in Crona's eyes. It was like he was always walking on eggshells, for Crona had no social experience, as a result he was jumpy, clumsy and afraid, having spent his entire existence shrouded by darkness.

Kid truly wondered if Crona's transition would be too much for him to handle.


	2. Safe Haven

A week had passed since their meet and greet, Kid hadn't had the time to talk to Crona as he would've wanted and was too busy helping his father, since Lord Death wasn't in the best of health. Also, annoyingly, a strange fame had surrounded him. He went from being, well 'no-one' considering most people never realised Lord Death had a son, to having every civilian in Death City knowing his name. He was being celebrated even more so than Maka for just being Lord Death's _son_. It felt unfair, and he wondered why he should be celebrated just for his heritage.

Liz and Patty ate it all up, however. Coming from the suburbs then suddenly being thrown into fame's eye was all they had ever dreamed of: they had paparazzi, modelling careers, even movie shoots, and they became the most famous weapons in all of Death City. While Kid on the other hand refused all of it: if a photo was taken of him he would usually break the camera, and he placed restriction orders on every stalker that dared to follow him, but it seemed to only increase the Media's interest. Mysterious, tough and cool, they labelled him as a 'bad-boy,' with the fan-girl club memberships swarming into the millions. Kid was overwhelmed by it all. It's not like he wasn't a people person, he just enjoyed his solitude. When he confessed this to Lord Death, his father didn't understand, insisting it was only natural and that Kid would have to get used to it since one day the city might be his own.

It was hopeless. No matter where Kid turned, he couldn't find a genuine person to talk to. Most days were spent in an abandoned room on the top level of the DWMA. The room was dusty, dark, filled with junk, but it was quiet, and that's all he wanted. He spent hours just staring out the window at the whole of Death City below, dwelling within his own mind. Until one day he spotted a familiar shade of purple and summoned his hover skateboard, making a bee-line to the scene.

Crona was backed up against a wall, two strong men advancing on him, threatening imminent pain upon him.

"Once a witch's pet, always a witch's pet," One chanted, swaying his muscly arm.

"Yeah, y'know I think we should take this one out, we'd be doing Lord Death a favour," The second chuckled, starting to glow from head to toe and transforming into a huge mallet-hammer weapon. No wonder his partner had big muscles.

Crona quivered under their shadow. In a split-second of defensive rationality, he summoned Ragnarok into demon sword mode, yet the two assaulters merely laughed at the thin black blade. Crona doubted that Ragnarok could even deflect an attack that heavy and forceful, in fact the blade could shatter. He didn't want to injure the meister either though, but they were right, he still had mistrust within the DWMA and didn't want to give them the doubt that he was still with the witches. Crona knew his only hope now was the black blood, but it would hurt. He closed his eyes—bracing for the hit.

"Hey!" Kid swooped down on his hover skateboard, causing the assailants to panic and run. Kid let them go, they were not worth his time, plus he didn't have much to fight with due to Patty and Liz's constant absence. He turned his attention to Crona, who looked extremely unsettled. "Are you okay?"

Crona swallowed and sighed a shaky breath, "Yes, I'm fine."

Ragnarok disagreed, "What do you mean? We were almost squashed! If it hadn't of been for ol' stripes we would be mincemeat yah' dumby!"

Crona nodded and turned to Kid, bowing slightly. "Thank you."

Kid scratched at his collar. "Yes well, I can't stand for bullying…" Before Kid could finish his greeting, he heard a familiar sound of excited shouts and calls, the troublesome two must've alerted the paparazzi. Kid took a hold of Crona's wrist. "This way," He commanded, before running down the alleyway with Crona in tow.

He darted down the alleyways, it certainly helped knowing every inch of Death City; it would give an advantage against any foe.

"Wh-Where are we going?!" Crona called, being tugged along against his will.

"To the DWMA, I know somewhere we can both hide," Kid assured, with the school now in close range.

"I don't think I can deal with running this fast!" Crona complained.

"Oh shut your whining trap would yah!" Ragnarok yelled, he was almost on the verge of complaining too since he was being dragged along the floor in blade mode.

"Here!" Kid stopped before exiting the housing complex, causing Crona to run straight into his back. Looking back and forth, no one occupied the main stairwell of the DWMA, but just to be on the safe side, he pulled out his reaper cape and mask.

Crona picked himself off the floor, rubbing his hurt nose. By the time he looked up, Kid had already changed into his disguise gear.

Kid turned to Crona and whispered, "If anything happens, just play along."

Crona nodded as he casually walked out into the open alongside Kid. However, before they were even able to fully exit the alleyway, they were bombarded by people and cameras. Crona couldn't help himself from wailing in shock, while Kid barely moved.

"Oh, it's just you Lord Death. We were looking for your son," One of the men said.

A few seconds passed until Kid was able to muster up a convincing enough high-pitched voice, "Oh really?" _Oh gods, I sound awful, surely no one will truly believe I am my father. _Kid made his excuses to leave, "Been getting into trouble has he? Well, I'll have to have a word with him. As you can see I am quite weak at the moment and must be making my way back to the DWMA."

"This is your first time since the Kishin fight that you've left isn't it?" Another reporter asked.

Kid could see the hunger in their eyes, a new story for the masses: 'Lord Death emerges from his domain alive and well.' Then again, they'd all probably change it into something bad somehow, since the shocking stories always sell. "Ahh-Yes! Well I was looking for dear Crona here, but now I must really get back to the DWMA. Good to see all of you!" He turned and ushered Crona to follow, "Come along, Crona."

Crona followed politely, entering the DWMA at a quick pace. Once passed the main doors, he continued to follow Kid throughout the compound, following him down corridors and up spiralling staircases, until he finally found himself entering an old and dusty room.

Kid ripped off his disguise, bursting into a slightly nervous laugh, "I can't believe that actually worked!"

"Mm," Crona hummed his response, looking around the room. "What is this place?"

Kid took a seat on a rickety old chair, allowing all muscles to relax at last. "An unused classroom or something. It's a shame really, because it has a great view."

Crona strolled over to the large window to find that Kid was right. You could see all of Death City and beyond from this height; it looked so serene when draped with the orange glow from the setting sun. "Thank you, for…err…defending me back there. I don't deal well with people."

"You already thanked me, I'm glad I came of use."

After those few words, a content silence fell between them. Kid used the peace to rest his eyes and Crona unexpectedly cleaned. As time swiftly passed them by, the sun sank below the horizon, and Kid felt he should ask his thoughts aloud: "Why were them guy's bothering you anyway?"

It took a second for Crona to register the question; he was in a rather mellow mood. "I'm not sure," He answered truthfully, "I'm still not trusted by a lot of people…they called me a witch's pet."

"And are you?" Kid opened one eye lazily.

"No," Crona sighed. "I might've been involved with witches, but she was my mother, I couldn't help it."

Kid felt sincere for him, it must've been so confusing when he first started the DWMA. "You've done a lot of bad things, but you've tried to make them right and now you're starting a-new. Everyone should be given that chance."

Crona smiled, uplifted by Kid's optimism.

Kid suddenly looked out the window to find the sky as black as ink. He slumped back into his chair. "It's getting pretty late, but I dread the thought of being hounded by the paparazzi again."

Crona didn't reply. Even though he knew that he should be heading back down to the cellar, he figured he could stay just a little longer.

Kid rubbed at his eyes and yawned, yet when his golden eyes were open again, he barely stopped himself from gasping.

"Oh wow," He muttered under his breath: the room was clean from top to bottom, all dusted down and put back into place, all the dirty sheets ripped down to reveal beautifully detailed and symmetrical furniture, old but vintage. Kid stood and opened the window, letting the dusty air fly out and allowing the room to breathe. Upon turning around he bellowed, "Magnificent! Truly you are a God of hard labour!"

Crona jumped, with shivers running _up_ his spine at the recoil shockwave from the vibrations caused by Kid's yell. He placed a hand over his heart that was beating a lot faster than it should and sighed to calm himself. "I-It really wasn't that dirty in here."

"Nonetheless," Kid struck up a finger. "You have exceeded the slander of cleanliness, I thank you. Now this room is more habitable."

Crona blinked. "H-habitable? You're staying here?"

Kid nodded, gazing out the window with a solemn look. "For tonight I might as well stay, since my home is swarmed by paparazzi, and besides," He shrugged, "It's not like I have anything to return too. My father is quarantined here, Liz and Patty are always out partying until the early hours of the morning…" Kid sighed, forgetting what point he was trying to make.

Crona's gaze focused on Kid's bronze eyes, becoming lost in thought as his aura glowed a sad shade of loneliness. Crona would admit he was surprised, for Kid had everything he had ever dreamed of: friends, a home, caring parents, great weapon partners, courage, power, strength, but it seemed that he was missing something dear, and he didn't know what it was.

"What about you?" Kid huffed, turning to find Crona's eyes were oddly transfixed.

"Err!" Crona jumped, pulled from his dream world. "I-I'm not allowed to leave the academy, so I have a bedroom in the cellar."

"In that dank, dark place? Nonsense! I will not allow you to sleep in such a depressive place," Kid stated as he stood. With his hands latching onto his hips, he puffed out his chest and bellowed like an officer of war, "You shall stay here for the night, if you wish that is."

Crona blinked. "Here?" It wasn't that he didn't want to, it was just…"But I might get in trouble, Miss Marie says—"

"I'm sure it'll be fine, besides," He flashed a smile. "I'm here keeping an eye on you, and I know for a fact no one can disagree with a reaper. " He referred to himself.

There it was again, those gold eyes shining a dull bronze for a slight moment. Crona looked away and muttered, "It must be nice to have that kind of…power."

A dull silence passed between them before Kid admitted, his bronze eyes gazing out the window to the night sky, "Well, it gets overrated."


	3. Conflict in Desperation

_ "I've been waiting for you, Crona."_

_My eyes snap open, faced with yellow snake eyes._

_"You have yet to kill the little one," The snake snickered._

_I shivered as the oil-like substance pooled around my knees, ice-cold against my frail skin._

_"What're yah' waiting for yah' dummy, if you don't I will!" Ragnarok growled._

_The snake hissed, revealing toxic fangs._

_"Now, now, don't be impatient," Madusa cooed, she circled around Crona's thin neck, facing the same way Crona was. "Crona has to do it on his own."_

_I look down to see the little one thrashing in the sticky substance, almost drowning._

_"Look at that Crona, it's helpless," The snake hummed in my ear, the tongue grazing my cheek. "It would almost be too easy to end its suffering. I have faith in you Crona, __**do it~**__"_

_I tried to get a hold of my senses, tried to shake my head and refuse, but my body had a mind of its own. I watched in horror as I reached out and submerged the creature, holding it down, waiting for the bubbles to stop—_

"Crona, it's time to get up you sleepy thing!" A sleazy woman's voice replaced the snake.

Crona opened his eyes, only to be faced with a magical cat's all-too-revealing breasts. His eye's hastily jolted away.

"Hm?" Blair placed a hand to Crona's forehead. "Are you okay Crona-darling? You seem a little hot."

"Who wouldn't blush to that sight?" Soul grovelled, trying to hide the massive overflow of blood from his nostrils, soon earning a book to the face from Maka as punishment for his lewd glances.

"Blair you shouldn't wake people if they're having a bad dream." Kid flicked a finger at her, trying to control his own temperature.

"Bad dream?" Maka became concerned. "Are you okay Crona?"

Crona waved his hand in defence. "No, I-I just don't deal well with sleeping in new places." He had stayed over the night with Maka and the rest of her friends, excluding Patty and Liz who were making a deal with some higher-ups to make action figures of themselves, and secretly Kid.

"Eh, he seems fine to me." BlackStar shrugged, with a sincere nod from Tsubaki by his side.

"Oh, and your powers of deception have always been so on point? You inspire me," Kid scoffed a sarcastic remark.

BlackStar took him seriously. "Of course! I'm BlackStar; Ultimate Assassin and bad-ass meister! Ain't that right Tsubaki?!"

"More or less." Again she waved her right to take no sides.

Kid laid his head in his palm, getting a headache from BlackStar's arrogance. "Idiot…"

Maka changed the subject before BlackStar could figure out that Kid had insulted him, "Right! So what does everyone feel like doing today?"

Blair raised a hand. "How about makeovers? I know a boy that could do with a haircut!" She purred, pulling at the odd strands of Crona's mismatched hair.

BlackStar cringed. "Nah! I wanna do something fun! Something that involves me; BlackStar!"

"How could we ever leave you out?" Kid rolls his eyes and mutters, "I vote lounging around, it's quite hot today."

Maka's eyebrows furrowed. "C'mon guys it's not often we get to do something together."

"How about basketball?" Tsubaki's voice entered. "I remember when we placed last time, it was so peaceful. It can be a celebration of the new peace we have."

"That's a great idea, Tsubaki!" Maka smiled.

Soul groaned, only just now waking from his unconscious state, rubbing at his book inflicted injury. "Ugh, effort."

…

Half an hour later they were all on the pitch, Maka's father marking the points. They were in teams of three: Crona, Kid and Maka on one side, Soul, BlackStar and Tsubaki on the other. Kid huffed, he had been placed on a bad team. Maka didn't know how to play the game and he didn't expect Crona to either, not that he himself was very athletic anyway.

Spirit threw the ball into the middle of the pitch, starting the game, with Blair cheering on the side-lines beside him.

BlackStar was the first to grab the ball, passing it backwards to Soul who in turn threw it over to Tsubaki—

Kid intercepted. Taking the ball to his chest and spinning on a heel, he scanned his teammates, finding Maka waving her arms frantically behind Soul's defence, and Crona didn't seem to be paying attention. He groaned, dribbling the ball to the goal on his own. Dodging BlackStar's efforts to get the ball he jumped, slamming the ball straight through the net.

Spirit sighed contently as he realised it had been two weeks since the Kishin's defeat and things couldn't be better. He had reclaimed his title as Lord Death's weapon, his beloved daughter was safe and well, everything was just perfect. "This is the life."

"What's that Mr. Death Scythe?" Blair blinked, slowly tickling an ice cream with her tongue.

"I was just thinking, so much has happened. People died, war, the endless fighting," He rambled. "And now look, my child, a hero, can play in peace again with her friends."

"It's lovely." Blair became sentimental, watching the former warriors bicker on the basketball pitch.

"No fair! I saw you cross the line!" BlackStar growled.

"I assure you I stayed within the boundaries at all times, _you're_ the one who should be disqualified! You could kill someone using the strength you do when throwing the ball," Kid hissed, passing the ball into BlackStar's chest.

Tsubaki waved her arms in the background; trying to distract BlackStar from fighting. "Maybe this wasn't a great idea guys."

It was too late.

"That's it! You and me, right here, right now! That's if you're man enough to fight me," BlackStar yelled.

"I refuse," Kid said quickly.

"What?!" A fist latched onto Kid's collar.

Kid sighed, he didn't want to give this boy the time of day, friend or not. "Normally, I wouldn't be hesitant to accept your request, but as you can see I have no weapons to fight with."

"Ha!" BlackStar laughed. "You thought I was going to use Tsubaki? I'll take you down with my fists alone."

Crona's attention was drawn to Kid, then to Maka. Maka stared at the ground, her fists trembling and her teeth grinding. "M-Maka…?" Crona uttered her name before turning to Kid again, who seemed to be wielding a much more controlled expression of Maka's frustration and sadness.

Kid was thrown back a step; he raised his arms in a defective pose as BlackStar swung to strike.

**Thump!** BlackStar's clenched fist connected with flesh, but not Kid's. Kid watched in shock as a flash of purple jumped in the way. The punch's impact sounded unnatural, almost like all BlackStar had pounded was thick metal. A sudden gush of air burst from the shockwave, proving just how hard BlackStar had punched Crona directly in the face. Everyone was silent, completely stunned, and Crona amazingly was still standing.

"Cr-Crona...!" Kid chocked, stuttering for the first time in his life.

Crona stayed still, raising a hand to the impacted cheek. He wasn't bleeding since he had hardened the blood around the area, but it still hurt and stung. "Please…" He breathed, his head remaining in its downward position "…D-Don't fight, please, I can't deal with you all being so sad…" He nibbled at his lip, fighting back the tears. "Not when everything is supposed to be peaceful, not after everything. Why? W-Why are you fighting?" Crona rambled, his arms slinking around himself, one palm hiding his sobbing face. He tried to hide in plain sight, hoping he hadn't upset Maka further, praying he had done enough to cure her sadness.

Kid went to put a hand on Crona's shoulder, but stopped mid-way and watched his hand tremble. Maka stole his move as she hugged Crona from behind.

"Thank you," She said, wrapping her arms around his frail, weeping being. "Thank you, Crona…"

Kid huffed. A growl itching at the back of his throat, he asked with clenched fists, "Why did you take the hit?"

Crona looked up with tear soaked eyes, Maka holding him tightly by the arm. Kid seemed angry.

"Why did you do that?!" Kid repeated loud enough to make Crona jump.

Crona looked into Kid's bronze eyes, the light gold faded. He mumbled the feeble excuse, "I-I didn't want to see anyone get hurt."

"So you jumped in the God-damn way?! You Idiot!" Kid hissed.

Maka stepped forward. She stood adamantly. "Kid, leave Crona alone."

Crona eased Maka with his touch, allowing Kid to continue.

"Tell me, why me? I can take care of myself. Why defend me?" Kid asked, his tone growing darker.

That was easy for Crona: "Well," He just needed to find the right words, "You did the same for me, not that long ago."

Kid bit harshly on his tongue, keeping himself from uttering several swears.

Spirit interrupted the unfortunate brawl. "Hey," He caught everyone's attention "I think we've created a crowd." He pointed to a small crowd of reporters slowly gathering in numbers, all chattering Kid's name.

Kid quickly summoned his hover skate-board and hopped on, flying away without a word.

"They must've arrived to take photos of the heroic BlackStar!" BlackStar was too busy making poses to realize the cameramen had all ran after Kid, only Soul's punch to his thick skull woke him.

Maka watched Kid fade into the distance. "What's his problem?"

"He_ is_ a little touchy lately," Soul grumbled.

"What a jack-ass," BlackStar added.

Tsubaki voiced a worried hum along with Spirit and Blair.

Crona sighed silently; it seemed he had replaced his friend's sadness with anger, he was so confused.

…

Kid dashed into his secret room in the DWMA, slamming the door behind him. Letting out a small cry of frustration and anger, he wasn't sure why, but he was too angry too rationalise. For some reason things weren't right since the death of the Kishin, things were supposed to go back to the way they were before all this, things were supposed to be perfect, and they weren't. Was it the terror of war burnt into his mind? Plaguing him were the images of loved ones dying, the images etched into the back of his eyelids, so that whenever he blinked, they stared back at him with _that_ look: the same look Maka, BlackStar and Crona had given him. Or maybe it was all because he wasn't getting his own way and that he was nothing more than an incompetent, selfish child raised on wealth. The sin of money ran in his blood.

"…K-Kid, are you in here?"Crona crept in the room, his light footsteps making no noise against the aching floor boards.

"Yes," Kid sighed. At least Crona's voice was subtle against his grinding headache.

Crona entered, slowly closing the door behind him until he heard the latch click. Without a word, Crona took a seat out of the blue and began reading a few dusty books he'd taken from the library. Reading wasn't his strong point, as he couldn't deal with some of the bigger words, but he would always read on anyway. Crona knew he needed to become stronger so most of the literature he picked up was on demons, blades and swords, just for research. Crona knew he could use the black blood like an expert, but correct sword fighting was another story, usually he just swung the sword around weakly hoping for good results.

Kid did nothing more than watch the odd spit of rain roll down the window, a storm was coming. He sighed, he was going to spend another night here. Kid had spent a whole week sleeping in this small room, never bothering to return home. He did feel claustrophobic at times, yet it wasn't like he was going to get any freedom when every Media source in Death City was hounding him the second he stepped outside. He grew bored of drawing smiley faces in the steam that his breath created on the windowpanes and finally turned to Crona, who was still reading.

"Hey," Kid called, catching the other's attention. "What are you reading?"

Crona was just finishing off the last page. He closed the book and put it aside, picking up the next one and reading aloud the title, "Excalibur."

Kid couldn't help burst into a small fit of laughter, "You might as well put it aside! Excalibur is as annoying as…well, now that I think about it, he _is_ the most annoying weapon I've ever had the misfortune to know." Kid chuckled, standing and snatching the book from Crona, flicking through the pages, remembering how at one time he had found the text mesmerising.

"Oh," Crona blinked, then mumbled, "I-I don't think I could deal with another weapon."

"Trust me," Kid huffed. "I'd rather fight with my bare hands than with Excalibur." He rubbed his smooth hands together tenderly.

An awkward silence drifted over the two, as Crona couldn't think of anything to say. He couldn't deal with conversations, yet couldn't deal with utter silence either. He looked up and yet again found Kid staring out the window.

"Want to play basketball?" He said abruptly.

Crona's gaze turned to the window: it was pouring it down, thunder and lightning included. "Now? It's raining, we could get wet, and I'm not sure if I could deal with a cold right now."

"Well, I think it's a great idea!" A slow grin was forming on Kid's lips. "Two friends, against the elements!" He belted, already feeling more like himself. "Hell, we could even do some training, what do you say?"

Crona stared at Kid's smile and gleaming golden eyes; it would've been hard to refuse him in such a positive mood. "F-Friends?" Crona questioned, the only friend he had was Maka, was it possible to have two at the same time?

"Of course!" Kid flashed a wink, holding out a strong hand.

Hesitantly, Crona took it and was pulled to his feet, only to be rushed down corridors and stairs, darting to the DWMA's gym storage enclosure to grab a sack full of basketballs before bursting through the front doors. Surprisingly, the rain was an unusually warm temperature, but there was lots of it, so it didn't take long before Crona's clothes were starting to soak through.

"Alright, I have an idea," Kid turned to Crona, releasing his grip and using the same hand to brush his wet fringe to one side. "But you might not like…well, be able to _deal_ with it."

Crona nodded, Kid's words now causing his nerves to skyrocket, taking note of how Kid summoned his hover skate-board and hopped on. He then held his hand out, motioning for Crona to join.

"This way is much faster." Kid waited for Crona to take his hand, but uncertainty plagued the boy's eyes. He sighed, "It's okay, I won't allow you to fall."

Crona's doubt subsided, replaced by an unusual bout of trust. It had been so long since he had put his faith in someone else, to place his life in someone's hands, and Crona was willing to do so. He took a hold and hopped on, yet even though he trusted Kid, he still held on tight for his own peace of mind.

…

Crona closed his eyes in fear for the entire journey, luckily Kid kept his promise and Crona never felt like he was going to slip.

Kid finally came to a stop, but Crona's arms remained tightly wrapped around his chest. The nervous one's face was buried in-between his shoulder blades; he coughed the embarrassment away. "Crona, we've arrived."

Crona raised his head to realise they had landed and quickly disembarked, allowing Kid to return the skateboard to its original, unknown location.

Kid dragged the sack of basketballs to the other side of the court. "So, I think we should do some training, or to be more specific, _you_ should."

Crona blinked, gently shivering in the rain. "I-I thought we were going to play basketball?"

"Well, earlier today I couldn't help notice you were as useless as Maka while playing." He took out a ball, spinning it effortlessly on one finger. "You just stood there day-dreaming."

Crona shook his head. He explained, "I was cloud-gazing."

"Cloud-gazing, why?" Kid huffed.

"I remember you saying it, w-when the Kishin was killed. I asked Maka what it was…and then I tried it out."

"Oh," Kid said. Uable to say anymore, he turned his attention away and his eye caught the basketball in his palm. "So, how about you try to hit these…s-stunningly symmetrical…err, basket balls with Ragnarok."

Crona agreed, summoning Ragnarok to blade mode, bracing for impact.

Kid drew the ball to his chest, throwing it outwards with the full strength of his arms. Unfortunately, Crona never even swung at the projectile—it just slammed straight into his face. In Kid's previous mood he would have sighed and dismissed the activity, but instead he burst into a fit of laughter, flashing a grin when Crona courageously returned to his feet, ready for the next attack.

They went on for what felt like minutes, but maybe it was hours. It was dark and raining and both didn't care, for they were having too much fun. They were alone together: no overly loud friends, no reminders of war, no paparazzi, Kid hadn't had this much fun in weeks. Even Crona smiled and chuckled a few times.

"Keep your eyes open, Crona!" Kid yelled, tossing another ball in his direction.

Crona swung, deflecting the attack. "The rain's getting in my eyes, it makes my eyes sting—I can't deal with it!" He moaned, although a grin kept tugging at his lips, Kid's unstoppable laughter causing him to release an odd giggle.

"You cannot control the weather Crona, what if it starts raining during a battle? Blink and you could lose your life!" Kid teased and threw another ball extra hard for emphasis, yet to his surprise determination flashed in Crona's eyes and with one swing the ball was sliced in two. "Whoa…."

Crona dropped Ragnarok, placing both palms on his knees and panting, watching the steam rise from his breath.

Kid fist pumped the air. "Success! Congratulations Crona, you've officially…C-Crona?" Kid stopped rambling, only just seeing Crona's hunched over state. He casually walked over to the purple haired boy, clutching gently at his jawline and tilting Crona's head to face him. Kid noticed the deep blush staining Crona's nose, cheeks and ears…something wasn't right.

"Kid," Crona murmured, his world beginning to spin. His body became numb and began to shake. He held on to consciousness for as long as possible, until he fell, letting the darkness catch him. Kid's breath was caught in a gasp.

"Crona!" Kid caught him, shaking his shoulder to no response. He then yelled, panic causing his mind to draw a blank, "C-Crona?!"He called Crona's name, again and again, until a slither of rationality hit him. Taking a hold of Ragnarok, who was still in blade mode yet also not responding, a bolt of electricity hit him at touching it: the madness flowing through him for a split second until it contacted with Crona's skin, somehow allowing Ragnarok to re-enter Crona's body, but it still failed to wake him. Kid carried Crona bridal-style and started to run, the destination he left to his feet because his mind was in tatters. He ran and ran through the cold and rain, he simply ran.


	4. Drowning, Wake me up

"Maka! Food ready yet? I'm starving," Soul moaned loudly from the living room sofa, he was fully capable of getting his own but he was too busy watching BlackStar preform one-handed push-ups, with his legs in the air too.

Maka huffed. "For the last time Soul, Blair is cooking tonight…and I'm sat right here you don't have to yell," She explained from the chair beside him.

Soul's head lolled backwards, he stuck his tongue out in disgust. "I guess its burnt fish for dinner then."

"I'm not sure, lemme check." Maka rose off her seat to go and ask, but she was held back by her father.

"Don't worry Maka, I'll check." Spirit gave a wink and a smile.

Maka only sighed to the gesture, knowing he would only want to fondle the female magic cat.

After a few minutes of cringe-full giggling, Blair's voice finally called out, "The fish will be ready in a few more minutes-_nyan!_"

Soul immediately calling back, "Just serve it now before its toasted!"

BlackStar chuckled, switching to his other arm and continuing his push ups. "Y'know what else is going to be toast? Kid. Once I'm through with him he'll be wishing he was never born!"

Tsubaki tried to subdue her partner's anger, "Don't you think that's a little harsh BlackStar?"

"Of course not! He threatened the infamous BlackStar, and he will get a lifelong grudge!" BlackStar jumped to his feet, punching repeatedly at the air.

Maka pinched at the bridge of her nose, this friendship get-together was turning out to be a nightmare. A knock at the door seemed to be her salvation. "I'll get it!" She called, not allowing her father to take that from her. She ran to the door and opened it without hesitation, not bothering to even look through the eye-glass; a burst of cold air and rain almost pushed her back a step. Wiping the water from her eyes she was met with a dark sight: Kid was stood in the doorway, shadowed by the darkness of night and the odd flash of lightning, soaked to the bone, shaking and whimpering, clutching onto Crona's weak frame tightly.

"K-Kid?" Maka's voice was strangled with shock and despair. Something bad must've happened.

Kid sniffed, not bothering to stop the tears running down his cheeks. "C-Can I come in, please?"

It took a second to respond, but finally she nodded.

Kid walked in far enough for the door to be closed behind him, and then he collapsed from sheer exhaustion.

"You have to help him! Please!" He still had the strength to beg as Maka looked Crona over, taking him from Kid's arms.

"What happened?!" Maka hissed as Kid reached out for Crona, but Maka protected him.

Kid knew he was a quivering mess, but his dignity was the least of his worries.

"I-I don't know anymore! You have to help him! It's my entire fault," He cried.

Maka ignored Kid's sobs and called to her father, "Call Dr. Stien or Mira—anyone! We need a nurse now!"

Spirit jumped into action, rushing to the phone and dialling all the numbers he knew of.

At that moment, Soul, Tsubaki and BlackStar rushed into the corridor to see what the commotion was, with BlackStar immediately grabbing onto Kid's collar. "Look who shows up for his beating!"

Kid didn't respond, he allowed his body to be held up against the wall, high enough for his feet to no longer touch the ground. He didn't brace, he just held his head down, disgraced with himself.

"Go on then, I don't care anymore," Kid mumbled. "I deserve it."

BlackStar growled and threw Kid to the floor. "Pathetic," He spat.

"Call me whatever you want, I don't care, just please help Crona," He sobbed and begged, pulling out his hair in turmoil. For the first time in his life he was unable to solve what he had caused, to take a stand and fix everything. He was worse than useless; he was indeed pathetic.

…

Kid sat quietly beside Crona's chamber, leaning against the wall with his knee's hunched to his chest, cautiously glaring at the door to his right. He could only remember bits and pieces of the chaos: the nurse rushing in, explaining Crona had succumb to hyperthermia. His body was already weak because of his transition from the madness to the light, and as Kid explained what he had done, all blame fell upon him. He knew he deserved it, for to drag Crona around like a stress ball for his own mental problems was just incomprehensively selfish. But then he couldn't understand why he did it. Crona's faint smile haunting his memory when he offered the idea, the laughter they shared, it was all real. How did it all go wrong?

"Rough day?"

Kid turned to the dark but mellow voice, finding Soul has sat next to him.

Kid scoffed, "Rough really isn't the word I would sum this up with."

"You look terrible." Soul lolled his head to the side, examining Kid's solemn expression. The dark bags under his eyes were extremely noticeable against his pale skin, and his hair was in tatters, but he still managed a smile.

"I presume you meant that in a non-offensive way, but I don't see how you could have not offended me," Kid chuckled.

"You should come downstairs, stop wallowing in your self-pity. You'll feel better."

Kid believed Soul was correct, but…

He glanced away, disheartened. "I do not think I could face them now."

Soul sighed, why was it that he always had to deal with crap like this?

"Look, I don't think you'd do this to Crona intentionally, and as long as you know that, then don't listen to the other guys." He suddenly stood, offering a hand to Kid. "Come on you silly bastard."

"It would seem that you are too wise for your age," Kid huffed. He took a hold and rose to his weak feet. "If they all kill me, you're the one to blame."

Soul groaned, "Whatever."

…

_"Well done, my child…"_

_My eyes snapped open to a dreadful sinking feeling; I'm numb from the waist down, the murky liquid sloshing around me._

_"You've finally succeeded."_

_Suddenly, a gruesome sight caught his eye: the little one's dead body was bobbing at the surface, lifeless and stiff, plagued by the substance it floated in. Tears caused my eyes to sting but I was unable to wipe my cheeks as my body was restricted by my mother's tail._

_"Don't cry, dear Crona. What you've done was the right thing."_

_Then why does this feel so wrong? Why do I feel so horrid?! I want to scream and run, but instead I quake in fear. I curse my weakness._

_"It's easier to destroy the things that stand in your way," Mother continued to taunt in my ear, and I listen, I listen to her hypnotising words._

_"Now, do you know what I want you to kill next?"_

_"No," I reply, not even wanting to know. But a sound like thunder snaps me from my sorrow. The room flashes, revealing something too horrible to comprehend. In the substance stood my friends: Maka, BlackStar, Soul, Tsubaki and…Kid. My legs tremble; this couldn't be happening. All the while, mother laughs sadistically in my ear._

_"That's right, Crona—"_

_"No!" I finally respond, thrashing in the waist-high ooze, slowly escaping from mother's grip. "Run!" I warned my dead-eyed friends, but they didn't move. "Go Now Before—" In my panic I tripped, falling into the black substance. I surfaced, coughing and rubbing my eyes. I returned to my feet, finally able to look at my black stained skin. With my eyes wide with terror, and shivering violently from the cold sensation, I look up. My friends all stand there, watching me._

_"What's the matter, Crona?"_

_I hear mothers voice, yet I cannot see her. I look around frantically, soon questioning whether the voice came from my own mind. "I-I don't understand."_

_"Oh, but it's quite simple Crona," Medusa purred, surfacing from the liquid, slithering up his back and shoulder blades. She felt him quiver under her scales. "All these people are holding you back."_

_"Y-You're wrong," I gagged. It was the first time I had spoken ill-will to mother, it was the first time I had defended myself, but I knew that because of the people that stood before me, I was now stronger, wiser. Without them, I would be nothing. Tears rolled down my cheeks, washing the black stain partially from my face. "They helped me, I-I can't do that to them. Not again." _

_"They've made you weak, Crona."_

_Mother's cruel words caused me to jolt in fear, her toxic fangs hanging dangerously close to my throat. I swallow thickly._

_"They're in your way, holding you down. You have the power Crona, you have the power to be as strong as I was, and you have the power within you to become the next __**Kishin**__," Medusa hissed. _

_My wide eyes could not be drawn from my shaking hands. Me? A Kishin, that monster?! I-I couldn't, I won't let it—_

_I gasp in shock as the water level starts to rise, rising up to my chest. The temperature suffocates me. I hug my chest in a tightening, sickening pain._

_"There's no escape, Crona. You will kill them for me—you will follow in my footsteps."_

_I fight, although my body is slowly becoming numb, raked with pain and weakness. I scrub the liquid from my skin, only to find a sight too horrendous to voice a scream. Scales replaced my skin._

_It was already too late._

_"You are my child, after all…"_

…

Kid slumped down the stairs. As his clothes were still damp, they clung to his skin and every so often he was forced to tug the clothing away, finding it highly irritating. He allowed Soul to walk in first before reluctantly following, and instantly received the attack he was mentally bracing for.

BlackStar had been cunningly hiding, waiting for his time to strike. When he had seen Soul walking upstairs, he knew that his friend would deliver him his vengeance. His strong fist connected with Kid's jaw, knocking the reaper to the floor with a harsh thud.

Kid might've mentally braced, but physically he hadn't been ready. Being punched by BlackStar was like getting swung at by an iron mallet: you're either going to get something broken, or be killed entirely. It's good that Kid didn't fancy dying today.

"Why thank you, I rather needed that," Kid hissed, rubbing the impact area and clumsily staggering back to his feet.

"You asshole!" BlackStar growled, yelled, cursed, the anger clearly visible on his face. His shaking fists clenched at his sides.

"Calm down, idiot," Soul walked in, hands in his pockets.

"How can you be on his side, Soul?! You're my partner, and _our_ friend, you should be defending us!" Maka stood, pain and frustration staining her eyes.

"I'm not taking any side," Soul calmly stated. "I'm looking at the damn facts. You guy's seem to be forgetting that Kid probably saved Crona's life," He went on, allowing no emotion to edit his words as the others had fallen prey to. "You haven't even let Kid defend himself."

From that point on, everyone shut up and sat down. Even BlackStar seemed subdued, but still had a heavy scowl painted on his face. Kid was allowed to sit, which he was grateful for, since his legs ached after the tremendous amount of running he had to do to get here.

"You're still soaking wet." Maka threw a towel over his head roughly. Tsubaki had carried the towels down to dry the carpet and tiled kitchen floor earlier, and since then they had dried.

Kid yanked the towel off his head, causing a few light hairs on his head to levitate with static. While drying his face, neck and hands, he mumbled, "Thank you."

Soul took a seat next to Kid. "Yeah, we don't want you catching hyperthermia too."

Kid couldn't help but chuckle under his breath, "Please, I cannot catch such a thing; my immune system is far too superior."

"Yeah, but the same can't be said about Crona," Maka hissed.

Kid bit his tongue, forcing to end his bragging stupidity.

"Yes, well…" He paused, unable to summon words apologetic enough. "I wasn't thinking straight."

"So what? Is that it? No explanation, no apology?" Maka scoffed, earning a scornful glance from Soul. BlackStar laughed loudly as Maka scowled.

Kid sighed. He fiddled with the towel in-between his hands, feeling more demoralised the more they stared and judged. Why was he even trying to clear his name to such stubborn, foolish people? Then again, he questioned what his name even meant now. With his father dragging him to the throne against his will, the media splashing his name on every newspaper, magazine or billboard that had ever been created, and his friends judging him before trial…what was his name worth? A leader, stud and now a fool, these were all lies upon his name, but it seemed it was all his name stood for now. Would he allow himself to pick a route and quarantine himself to a life he didn't want to live?

"I can't fully apologise for what I've done, but I _can_ swear that I never purposely meant Crona any harm. For my actions…" He hesitated, looked up, meeting their eyes so like Media cameras. They were poised and ready to judge him, then toss the real him away, turning his name into something it was not. And once again he questioned, what was the point of even trying to explain? "I cannot give a valid explanation for my genuine mistake. I am sorry."

All of a sudden, Kid stood and walked out, ignoring Maka's protests behind him.

"Hey, Hey! Come back here, I'm not done with you yet!" She reached out for Kid's tuxedo collar, only for Soul to hold her back.

Soul watched Maka's face scorn him, but in her eyes was an underline respect so she did listen. "Just let him go, Maka."

"So, what now?" Tsubaki voiced her concern as BlackStar leaned back with an aggravated sigh.

"You guys will just have to swallow your prides and forgive him," Soul stated, to which he received mixed responses.

Kid rushed upstairs. He didn't want to be caught by Maka and get a worse headache than he already had. Quietly, he crept into Crona's room, tiptoeing along the floorboards until he came to Crona's resting place. He slept in a sickly cream bed with the blankets pulled up to his throat, deathly pale, hollow bags under his eyes, and his hair was even messier than usual. Kid simply sighed and sat at the end of the bed, watching as Crona twitched in the corner of his eye.

A worried thought crossed Kid's mind._ A bad dream again? How does he get any rest…_


	5. Resolution!

Crona was washing dishes. Since Soul hadn't bothered to, he thought it was the least he could do, after all he had used Soul's bed. However, Maka would get upset if she saw him out of bed. It had been three days since Kid was kicked out, and even though Crona had spent the majority of those days in bed, he couldn't rest. His nights were plagued by the nightmares, so he would either wake up in cold sweats or refuse to go to sleep. He wished that Kid would be sitting at the foot of his bed when he awoke, apologising, saying he couldn't wake him from the bad dream, and reassuring him that he was safe now. But he was never there, there was only the darkness.

Crona sighed, exhausted and stressed; even Ragnarok didn't have the energy to appear. He just concentrated on the warm water against his hands. Even though he had mostly recovered from his hypothermia, his skin still felt ice cold, as if he was still infected by the black blood in his dreams.

Suddenly, he froze, becoming dizzy. His body shook as water dripped from what he now saw was scaly skin.

_"Oh Crona, my dear child…" _

He jumped, instantly dropping the plate in his hands, allowing it to smash on the floor. His pin-dot eyes darted to an overshadowed part of the kitchen. To his horror, a yellow snake slithered from the darkness—and struck at him.

Crona ducked with a wail. Shielding his head with his arms, he forgot the broken plate on the floor. The skin on his knees shredded against the broken pottery.

"Crona!" Maka ran in, finding Crona a quivering, weeping mess. Blood was beginning to stain the tilled flooring. "Oh my—Soul! Get down here now!"

Maka ran to Crona, taking him into her embrace and dragging him away from the sharp objects. Once she noticed Soul in the doorway, she instructed him to get the first aid kit. She shook Crona by the shoulders, but he was delirious: convulsing violently, his eyes rolling, his breathing dysfunctional. He was in a state of pure shock and panic. "Crona, are you okay?!"

Crona couldn't breathe, see, or control himself. His body just automatically lashed out without command, and it wasn't long before he lost consciousness completely.

…

_"Oh-ho Crona! My darling child…" Mother taunted, her voice riddled with sarcasm._

_My eye's snapped open with a quick, sharp gasp. Oh no, not here again._

_"You finally came back; I was starting to miss you…"_

_I swallowed and looked around, the fear that this room had given me before had disappeared. I knew my surroundings, I kept track of the rising water, I marked where mother would hide. All I had to do was find the exit. I tried to stay calm._

_"I would like to leave," I spoke, raising my voice loud enough to sound asserting._

_"Oh?"_

_Did it work?_

_"But you only just arrived."_

_Damn. It didn't._

_I breathed deeply. No matter, I assured myself, I would figure something out. Suddenly, Ragnarok decided to but in. I doubled over in agony, for it had been a while since he had last emerged and the pain was scorching. _

_"Why hello, Ragnarok. It's been a while hasn't it?" Madusa purred, slithering up Crona's frame until she was able to settle around Ragnarok's broad shoulders._

_"Long time no see, eh'?" Ragnarok laughed, his voice deep and menacing._

_I felt my head be yanked up by a large arm, causing painful whiplash. My eyes were forced to meet the figure opposite me. It was Kid again, his eyes half-closed and dull-bronze, his frame unmoving. I forgot to breathe—he almost looked like a standing corpse. I only could whimper, feeling a flash of joy at seeing him, but also knowing he was not safe here. I begged, pleaded for him to flee, but he refused to move._

_"Crona, you see, why won't you kill him for me?"_

_Mother's words were dead in my ears. I found it easier to ignore, and mirrored Kid's blank emotion. Until Ragnarok smashed our foreheads together. I flinched away, not wanting to see his eyes._

_"Yeah, why don't ya' end his moping?" Ragnarok proposed. He created a swinging motion, as if he had an imaginary sword. He then laughed sadistically, "It'd only take two seconds. Bam! Straight in two!"_

_The image of Kid suffering such a blow crossed my mind, causing my heart to beat ten times faster; I became defensive._

_"No!" I shrieked, pushing Kid away from Ragnarok's potential attack. I instantly regretted my actions as Kid fell below the surface of the black blood. I gasp, and without thinking, I dive in after him._

_I scramble under the water, searching with my arms—searching desperately for Kid. Eventually my prayers are answered as I make contact with him, quickly linking my arms under his own to pull him back up to the air. I breathe deeply as I reach the other side and pull with all my strength, just managing to heave Kid high enough for his mouth to be free from the toxic water. _

_I look down at Kid, all of a sudden finding it more difficult to tug him up. The liquid was starting to solidify, mixing into a substance more like tar, and it was dragging Kid down._

_Starting to lose my grip, I yelled, "Kid! Wake up!" I was desperate, pleading with Kid's limp state. "Kid!" I kept my hold, feeling my own body being pulled down with him, but I refused to let go. "Kid, y-you have to get up! I can't deal with t-this much weight! Kid! __**Kid!**__"_

_…_

"K—" Crona choked awake. He jumped up from his sleeping state, shaking and sweaty. His eye's immediately locked with Kid's when he awoke. He reached out, taking a violently tight grip on his tuxedo sleeve

"You have to leave, now," Crona breathed sharply.

Kid tilted his head, confused. "Leave? But I just got here."

Crona blinked, not completely believing his eyes, because gold eyes, not bronze, were staring back at him. He dared to utter his name, "…Kid?"

Kid was sat on the armrest of the sofa that Crona had been sleeping on. He saluted with a grin. "The one and only!"

"Wh-Why are you here?" Crona asked, still stunned.

"I heard you had an to injury, so Maka begged for my forgiveness—"

"Don't push it, Kid," Maka growled.

"Fine," Kid pinched the bridge of his nose. "The truth is…I became tired of being an emotional pansy, so I came here to take you back."

"You mean kidnap?" Maka cocked an eyebrow.

"I'm telling you I would not take Crona against his will!" Kid snapped.

"And what about my will?"

Kid snubbed. "Well I couldn't care less about—" Cut short by a fist to his jaw.

Crona covered his mouth to try and stop the laughter, his fear replaced by joy.

Kid rubbed his cheek in pain and smiled subtly, finding he enjoyed the sound of Crona laughing. It seemed Crona was in high spirits.

"So, how about it? Care to join my ranks again?" Kid asked, nervously tugging at a scrap of hair on his head.

Maka leaned forward, knowing full well she should leave the decision to Crona, but it couldn't stop her from begging. Her green eyes shone with concern as she whispered, "Crona, you should rest. Don't risk getting ill again."

Crona blinked, glancing down to his bandaged knees, a vision of mother crossing his mind. "I can't deal with being cooped up much more, I think some fresh air will be good—"

"Success! Fate is finally on my side. Come along Crona, much is to be done!" Kid bounced to his feet, striking a determined fist.

Maka stood, respecting Crona's independence. She swung on her heel, grasping Kid by the collar, grappling him down to her vengeful eye level. "Kid, I'm trusting you, _but,_" She snarled, her grip beginning to cut off his airway. "If you _dare_ hurt Crona again, I will be chopping you up with Soul's blade, despite him being on your side."

"O-Of course m'lady, I'd prefer to keep all my limbs intact, especially the explicit ones." Kid swallowed, hugging himself to secure his vulnerability. He was released and he backed away, standing as still as he could when she walked by and out the room.

"Are you okay?" Crona asked, shifting unsurely. He saw Kid shiver.

"Fine, considering I feel like I've just had my second near-death experience," Kid chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "How about you?"

Crona remained silent at first. Should he say anything about before: about his nightmares, about mother? He swallowed it down, he didn't want to worry Kid. He tickled at his knees, trying to shoot a smile. "I-I'm okay, I just had a fall."

Kid flushed momentarily, before he coughed, "Well, err, can you walk at all?"

Crona moved to the side, placing his feet on the cold floor. "I think I can—"

"Nonsense!" Kid rushed in and slung Crona into his arms. "What am I talking about? You've suffered from a leg injury, who am I to force you to walk?"

Crona gasped as Kid carried him, holding onto his shirt tightly as Kid ran through the rooms to the front door. Kid turned to open it with his back, but stopped mid-step when he spotted Soul. He smiled.

"Hey Kid," Soul grumbled, arms behind his head, chewing on some bland gum. "Good luck, 'k?"

Kid smirked. "Luck? All I need is skill. And what's with you anyway?"

Soul shrugged his saggy shoulders. "How should I know, don't expect me to keep up to date with this kind of thing."

Kid blinked_. 'This kind of thing'? What the hell is he talking about?_

Crona wasn't paying attention, only looking up to Maka, who seemed very solemn at the top of the stairs.

"Good luck to you too, Crona." She bit the bullet, and forced a smile.

Crona nodded. "I-I'll see you again?"

"Sure, anytime you want." Maka smiled wider. She was glad when her words raised a smile to Crona's lips, but it didn't raise her dying spirits. She knew she shouldn't feel awful, but it tore her up inside knowing that Crona had chosen to spend the rest of his journey with Kid. She doubted they would meet often again.

Kid flashed a wave and took his ticket to leave, summoning his hover-skateboard and flying off.

Soul watched them soar into the morning sun, not knowing whether this was a happy ending or beginning, but he knew for sure Maka wasn't happy at all. He glanced up, seeing Maka on her knees, crying her strangled sobs into her hands.

He huffed. "I thought you were an independent girl. What are you doing falling in love anyway?"

Maka choked, "I-I didn't."

"Our souls are connected, Maka," Soul explained, shoving his hands into his pockets. He shook his head. "Don't try and deny it."

Maka didn't bother to answer, just continued to cry.

Soul sighed, she really was hopeless. "…You want some chocolate ice cream?"

Maka sniffed loudly, furiously wiping the tears from her cheeks. "Y-Yes, please."

…

Crona sighed, surprisingly relaxed. It had been an hour since he had left Maka's domain, or maybe more, or less, he couldn't tell. He was sat outside, in the much needed fresh air, under the shade of a tree, leaning against a floor-stood futon.

Kid sighed, dragging himself awake after almost falling asleep for the seventh time. "Hey, you awake?"

Crona twitched. "Mn."

Kid sighed contently, leaning his head back against the tree stump.

"This is nice," He muttered, before stretching his limbs and coiling back like a cat. "No noise or nonsense…"

Crona smiled, that much was true. He found it astounding that Kid had such a serene paradise of earth as his back garden: complete with rolling fields, trees, koi ponds, lakes, even a waterfall somewhere. The potent smell of budding flowers caught in his nose, and the light thumping of hummingbird wings tickled against his ears.

_"Crona…"_

He jumped forward violently, his eyes darting around. That voice was all too familiar.

"Crona?"

Crona turned, finding Kid with one lazy eye open. His heart instantly calmed.

"Are you alright?" Kid questioned, watching Crona's wild eyes ease.

"Y-Yes." Crona nodded, before then continuing, "It was a bee, I-I think." He chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck.

"Alright," Kid said with a smile, confident in Crona. "But if anything is bothering you, you can tell me."

Crona blinked, wondering just how Kid had known, as well as wondering how he could break the subject to him without mentioning anything specific.

"Well, I…" He could see Kid practically jolt awake in the corner of his eye. "I-I'm just nervous about tomorrow, because the DWMA re-opens."

"You're nervous," Kid sat up "About school?"

Crona flushed slightly. "Well I-I've never actually attended, as a student t-that is. I don't think I can deal with—"

"Crona."

He looked to the call. However, at finding Kid with a rather stern expression, he stiffened.

"Say 'I don't think I can deal with something' again, and I swear I'm going to go into that house," Kid pointed roughly to the mansion. "Get my scissors, and cut your hair until it's symmetrical, just like mine!" He hissed.

Crona shivered, he didn't think he could deal with a new haircut, but he didn't mention that aloud. He looked to Kid's hair, spotting the stripes on one side, but not the other.

"B-But," He dared to mention it, "Your hair isn't symmetri—"

Before Crona was able to finish his sentence, Kid released a wail, causing him to panic.

"I know! You don't have to point it out!" Kid allowed his head to dive into his hands. "I'm an un-symmetrical monstrosity…"

Crona waved his arms and shook his head. "No! It l-looks okay! It looks great!"

_Nothing you can say will make me any less of an abomination_, he internally cried, but pulled himself together. "Don't worry about tomorrow, by the way."

Crona blinked, confused as the conversation took a three-sixty degree turn, but then he realised "Oh."

"After all," Kid played with his hair, feeling slightly self-conscious. "I'll be there to, err…help you…deal with things."

Kid submitted, he had nothing better to do after all. He had been so stressed about nothing lately that he had almost forgotten to take some free time just to have fun.

Crona simply nodded, before noticing Kid was squinting at him. He shifted a little. "Err, what?"

"I apologise, but now that I've mentioned it…" He stretched out a palm and yanked lightly on a piece of Crona's fringe. "I don't think I can stand to leave your hair like this, I'm going to have to cut it."

Crona turned blue. He stood, chasing after Kid as he speed-walked to the door. "No! I don't think I can deal with short hair!"

"There! You said it again, now I'm _definitely_ cutting it."

…

Crona stood before a mountain of stairs leading to the DWMA. The school looked daunting and almost menacing from this angle. He stood frozen as many mumbling academy students passed him, glanced at him for a second, before he then disappeared from their minds. He shivered, feeling unnaturally alone.

_"Crona…"_

Crona jumped._ Not again_, He thought, shuddering, and then wailing when a hand came into contact with his quaking shoulder.

"Whoa dude, calm down!" Soul laughed.

Crona spun around, to find the easing sight of Maka and a chuckling Soul.

"Oh," He breathed, settling himself enough to smile. "Maka."

Maka cocked her head. "Everything alright?"

"Y-Yes, I'm just nervous," Crona admitted; he was truly nervous.

Soul scoffed, pulling at his headband. "I can see that."

"Don't worry about it Crona, I'm sure you'll do great!" Maka gave a humble grin. She then giggled. "Want to walk in together?"

Crona slowly drew a smile, he felt lucky to have such a caring friend as Maka.

"Sure," He agreed, about to turn and begin their ascent when he noticed something in the corner of his eye. Students were diving left and right to get out the way of a fast approaching, familiar, black, white-striped and golden eyed projectile. Before Crona had time to object or even flinch, he felt the bullet take a firm hold of the back of his collar and catapult him into the air. It's safe to say he was screaming the entire way.

Kid swung little light Crona skilfully into his arms, Crona's terror-filled eyes connecting with his own.

"Morning," Kid cooed.

Crona wasn't able to answer, he just clung on until they reached the summit, where Kid hopped off and let him to his feet.

"Wh-Why did you do that?" His heart was thumping too fast not to have some concern.

Kid straightened his clothes. "I wasn't about to allow Maka to drag you up all those stairs with your knees," Was his excuse. He glanced up, finding Crona's hair more of a mess than usual. Without permission he dove his hand in and pulled it until it looked decent. Then again, he cursed himself for not making it symmetrical. "You're lucky I couldn't find my scissors."

Crona sighed, finding Kid's palm comforting. _I'm lucky I was quick enough to hide them_.

Maka, who stood baffled at the base of the stairs, held out her hand.

"Soul," She commanded through gritted teeth, "Transform please."

Soul could see that killer-look in her eyes; no way was he going to be the blade that decapitated Death the Kid. "Pfft. No way."

"Do it!" She growled, but Soul still wouldn't budge. Outraged, she charged up the stairs at breakneck speed. "Fine! I'll kill him myself!"

"Oh dear," Kid muttered as he glanced down to the gaining hero. "It appears I might've angered someone."

Crona was disheartened by this, since he knew Maka was only acting for his protection, but he also knew that Kid meant no harm.

_"Crona…Do it, now!"_

He shuddered. He looked to Kid, but his gaze hadn't changed. Was he the only one hearing this?

_"Crona, he isn't even looking!"_

He screwed his eyes shut: trying to ignore the voice, it becoming increasingly harder as his shoulder blades began to burn.

"Kid!" Maka howled, clenching a fist. "You're gonna pay for that!"

Kid raised a palm to re-direct the punch, but a familiar purple blur jumped in the way, with the same metal pang to follow. To Maka's relief, she hadn't impacted Crona directly, only Ragnarok's blade which he had held out in front of him.

"C-Crona!" She gasped, not realising just how hard she had landed the impact.

A gruesome crack responded, and without warning…

Ragnarok's blade shattered.

Kid stood stiff with shock, for surely Ragnarok couldn't break? Surely it was impossible? Yet the pieces that laid by his feet were proof.

Crona collapsed soon after, moaning before violently throwing up black blood.

"Crona?!" Maka screamed, diving down to his aid, but backed away as his body began to convulse, his skin protruding in spikes.

"Don't touch him!" Maka warned Kid, who almost followed her actions. "It's the bloody needles, he can't control it."

Kid shook, he felt panicked, helpless. Even his breathing was out of sync, he didn't want to watch. "W-What's happening?"

"His and Ragnarok's souls have fallen out of wavelength. It's a rejection, I've seen this happen before. Something similar happened to me once," Maka explained, her eyes full of pain as she remembered.

"Well, what do we do to stop it?!" Kid shouted, becoming distressed.

"W-Well, I-I went in after him once. I matched my wavelength with his, but it's dangerous!" Maka stressed.

Kid didn't care. "Fine, then I'm going in," He stated as he ground his teeth with determination.

"No wait—Ah!" Maka reached out to stop him, inadvertently getting caught by a bloody needle, cutting her arm. While she jumped back out of the danger radius, she could only watch Kid do what she had once done—take full blown attacks to get in close.

Kid wrapped his arms tightly around Crona, his unconscious attacks protruding his spleen and shoulder; he ignored the pain.

"Just hold on," He hissed, hoping Crona would hear as he searched for his erratic wavelength. Soon enough he passed out.

Maka was able to breathe a sigh of relief when Crona ceased the rejection, then fell unconscious alongside Kid.

"What the hell happened here?" Soul asked, only just arriving at the top of the stairs.

"Soul," Maka panted. "Go and get Dr. Stein."

Soul raised an eyebrow. He looked to his right, where a grey haired doctor crept out from the shadows. "No need, he was watching."

"Indeed I was." Stein couldn't help but twist the screw in his head. Quietly, he sighed, "And look…you've got blood all over the pavement."

Maka pinched the bridge of her nose, never had she known someone to be so nonchalant about something so serious. "Stein, I need you to sew up Kid's injuries before he bleeds out."

"You misunderstand my occupation, Maka." The screw clicked roughly into place. "I dissect people, not sew them back together."

Maka could almost slap him. "It's the same thing: I'd like you to put Kid back together."

"Well, when you put it that way…just help me carry them both back to your place."


	6. Pure

_Kid woke with a painful wail, clutching his lower stomach and doubling over, gagging before his shock subsided. Upon examination, he found he had no injuries, just a bit of tattered clothing. He stood, noticing he had been kneeling in a shallow puddle of black liquid._

_"Disgusting," He grimaced. _

_He began to look around. The last thing he could remember, he was trying to resonate his soul with Crona's. In hindsight it had been a stupid move, but he had been reckless and desperate. _

_Suddenly, he froze. A sound caught his attention, but it was very faint: he could hear a faint sobbing_

_"…Crona?" He warily called._

_At receiving no answer in return, Kid began to wander in the general direction he assumed Crona was in. He did not find Crona at first, but after travelling far enough, he discovered an odd table…and a dead animal. It was truly disgusting and he wondered why he was here in this dank place, and why Crona would be here too. _

_Soon enough, he found a familiar flash of purple against the white and black. He smiled in relief._

_"Crona!" He called, jogging over to him and embracing him lightly._

_Crona looked up, clearing the tears from his eyes, Kid's smiling face greeting him._

_"Kid?" He whispered, uncertain. Was this Kid merely the copy? Or—_

_"Are you alright? What is this place?" Kid sat by Crona, ignoring the ice cold liquid seeping into his clothes. _

_Crona leaned back, sitting on bent legs. He answered whilst looking around, "I-I'm not sure, but I've been here before."_

_"You have?" Kid questioned with an incredulous look._

_The reaper cocked his head, resting his palms firmly on his crossed knees. Something felt odd about this place, for he could sense a sinister soul leering in the shadows. He glared and vowed to stay on edge, to stay alert._

_"Well, I…" Crona looked him over, suspicious and hesitant. Should he say anything? Was this truly Kid? Kid seemed lively enough to be real. "I've dreamt about this place."_

_"You mean..." Kid paused, concerned. "This is your bad dream? When you've been having nightmares, you've been here?" _

_Crona was now sure it was Kid, no one else knew about his nightmares. "Yes…I have."_

_Kid sighed, feeling slightly guilty. All this time he had argued that you shouldn't wake someone from a bad dream, but he himself was already feeling claustrophobic in this horrid place. Crona had obviously needed his help during these times._

_"I'm sorry," He apologised._

_"It's okay," Crona assured him. He then blinked; Kid looked so sad and frustrated._

_Kid hissed, "But it isn't, I could've been there for you—here for you. I was a fool."_

_Crona couldn't help but smile, realising that when it came down to it Kid was quite selfless. He carefully scooted closer. "No, I am here because of myself, the madness and…" He bit his tongue "…Mother."_

_"You mean that witch parent of yours?" Kid glanced around sharply, that would explain the presence he had been sensing. However, before he could speak his concerns, his attention was drawn back to Crona as he started to whimper quietly._

_"Y-You should go, you're not safe here." Crona held his head in shame, visions of his last encounter in this place racing through his mind, but Kid only laughed._

_"I can take care of myself," Kid chuckled. "I think you can trust me, Crona."_

_"That isn't it."_

_Kid breathed, Crona's words had been unnaturally sharp. He reached out a worried hand, but Crona forced him away._

_"I trust you…" Crona lightly gripped Kid's wrist as he discovered this to be true: he trusted Kid with his life, he trusted Kid even more than he did Maka, but something was holding him back. "I…I just d-don't trust myself." _

_Kid's eyes widened; Crona's self-confidence was still in tatters. He couldn't understand it, he knew about Crona's past, how he had gone through so much torment, and it was unfair that it still haunted him to this day. The poor boy didn't deserve it, but the only person that could help him…was himself. Kid took his hand away from Crona, using it to land a hard, inflicting slap across the face._

_Crona stumbled, his head lashing to one side as Kid made harsh contact. He cupped his cheek, looking to Kid, shocked and bewildered._

_"I don't want you ever doubting yourself again!" Kid growled, taking hold of Crona's collar. "You're better than this! You're better than the madness, and you're better than that damned witch!"_

_Crona gasped, holding onto the other's arm as Kid shook him—as Kid drilled those words into his head._

_"You're Crona!" Kid stood, rising Crona to his feet alongside him. "Don't let your past get in the way of where you are trying to go!" _

_Finally, with a hiss, Kid let go, allowing Crona to stumble back. Rubbing at his neck, Crona stared into his friend's golden, determined eyes. He knew he had needed that rough treatment, but most of all, he also knew he had needed __**Kid. **__Kid was right._

_And as this realisation struck Crona, the words that left his lips became soft, "Thank you, Kid." _

**_"Well, well…What a touching display."_**

_Crona flinched. That voice, it was mother._

_Kid watched a yellow snake slither from the darkness. So, this was the presence he had sensed? He could see Crona physically quake in the corner of his eye, and believed it was time to show Crona just how small his demons truly were._

_ "Ah, you must be Madusa. It's a pleasure to finally meet you," Kid greeted, a smirk in place and a mocking bow._

_Madusa spat her tongue. "I'd like to say like-wise, but I'm afraid—Hey, Hey! Wh-What are you doing?!"_

_Kid placed a heavy foot over the animal's mid-section, immobilising her. "Sorry, but for some reason I imagined you bigger, and…well…human. Are you sure you're a witch?"_

_"What? O-Of Course I'm Madusa! What are you talking about?!" She lashed around, but was unable to get free._

_Crona couldn't believe this, couldn't believe what Kid was doing. The reaper was unafraid, and he even mocked her. But he did have a valid point, for while she coiled under his foot, she did look rather… _

_Pathetic._

_"Crona."_

_Crona reacted sharply, fixing his gaze on Kid, "Yes?"_

_"Summon Ragnarok to blade mode, please," Was Kid's reply._

_Crona nodded, doing as Kid asked. For once, Ragnarok remained unnaturally silent._

_"Now's your chance, Crona. Kill her, end it." Kid smiled, yet Crona only looked shocked._

_"What?!" Madusa panicked, her movements becoming more erratic. "W-Wait, let's not be hasty!"_

_"Be quiet, witch," Kid huffed._

_Crona only stared down at his shaking hands, slowly stepping forward, closer and closer, mother's defensive words drowning his ears._

_"Crona, Crona! Don't you dare listen to this filthy reaper! You pathetic child!" She hissed her ramblings._

_The son closed his eyes and raised his sword, his mother's voice becoming increasingly distressed. Until he silenced her. A murderous clang rang through the darkness._

_"…I'm sorry," He apologised. "I can't do this, I just can't do this." _

_He had landed the blade beside her, not through her._

_She chuckled maliciously, "You're weak."_

_"Crona…" Kid held out his hand, taking a hold of Crona's shoulder, but found the boy wasn't shaking. "You alright?"_

_Crona nodded, raising his hand and holding Kid's own atop his shoulder. "I'm fine, I just don't think killing her will do any good."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_He sighed. "No matter what, I will always be connected to her. Killing her isn't going to change that…I-I…I'm just not going to let her affect me anymore." Crona felt determined, and by Kid's side, he felt brave for the first time in his life._

_Kid respected that. He picked up the snake by the tail and double checked, "Are you sure? I can kill her if you want?"_

_"I'm sure."_

_Kid nodded, before referring to Madusa, "I don't want to hear from you again."_

_Madusa smirked. "I can't promise I'll be silent."_

_Kid huffed before throwing her harshly, then watching her slither back into the black abyss. He chuckled slightly, proud of Crona, but he wasn't expecting the embrace he fell into as he turned around. _

_It was the first time Crona had sought for comfort, for contact, but he'd gladly do so with Kid. He hung his arms around Kid's broad shoulders, sinking his own face into the crook of Kid's neck. He didn't know what he'd do without Kid anymore._

_"Thank you," Crona mumbled. "For everything." _

_Kid hummed a tune of gratitude, before wrapping his own arms around Crona's back, pulling him closer, enjoying the warmth. Truly, he had made Crona his reason to keep walking through the turmoil of life, for he had kept him sane._

_Crona stayed there, just listening to Kid's breathing, not noticing when the black liquid became clear, when the walls faded to white, as all memory of the previous room ceased to exist. All he noticed was when Kid's grip grew loose. He shifted, and Kid unexpectedly fell to his knees. Suddenly the peace was shrouded with concern._

_"Ugh," Kid groaned, lightly shaking as he held his head. "I-I…I feel a bit…queasy." _

_He belched a sigh, his legs turning numb. He held onto Crona's arm for support and safety, feeling himself begin to pass out. Something was wrong—very wrong. All the while, Crona tried to hide his fear, more fear than he had felt towards his mother, as he became severely concerned. _

_All of a sudden, a hurricane of wind erupted. Crona shielded his eyes, finding that it originated from Kid, who was now screaming in agony. It grew into a gruelling, toxic, deadly cry of pain and distress, causing Crona to look. Kid's back was flexed, crying to the sky. Crona's heart skipped a beat as he watched the tears fall from Kid's eyes. But he couldn't do anything to help him, Crona was helpless. He latched onto Kid, for all he could do now was hold his weak arms around him, and hold on for dear life, to try and keep himself from being blown away _

_"Kid!" He called to him. "What's happening?! Kid!"_

_…_

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" Soul nudged Maka, chuckling as he moved Kid's unconscious body to his shoulder.

Maka was carrying Crona bridal style. She dismissed her partner's words, "I'm enjoying the fact that we don't have to go to school. Crona has nothing to do with it."

"At what point did I mention Crona?" Soul chuckled, she was so easy to tease. He watched her flush an arrogant pink.

"Shut up," She mumbled angrily.

"Hey, stop fighting, we're here," Stein ordered as they made it to Maka's home. He lazily pushed open the door. "Spirit!"

The red-haired man walked into the hallway, overjoyed to see his old friend again. "Stein! How have you…"

But before they could have a reunion, Stein was on the war path.

"I need you to bring a big mattress or blanket down here, separating these two idiots might be dangerous," Stein instructed and Spirit ran upstairs to do so. He turned to Soul soon after. "How's Kid doing?"

"His injuries haven't opened," Soul muttered. "I think I would've realised him bleeding out all over me."

"Crona's also fine," Maka confirmed.

Spirit dragged a large mattress down the stairs and into the living room, placing it in the middle of the floor as Maka and Soul placed the unconscious duo atop it.

"What happened to them?" Spirit questioned.

"It's a long story," Maka sighed, sitting on the sofa alongside Soul.

"Their souls are linked…which is why I believe separating them could be dangerous." Stein sat on the floor, eyeing Kid over.

"Crona freaked out after Maka broke his sword, what's that thing called?" Soul asked.

"Ragnarok," Maka groaned, burying her head in her hands. If she hadn't been so hasty, so judgemental, this situation could've been avoided. "It's my fault they're both like this."

She felt her father's supportive hand on her shoulder, but it did little to ease her.

"Stein, you okay?" Soul flicked an eyebrow, questioning Stein's intense stare.

"I'd give anything…to dissect this boy." He poked at Kid's cheek, a sly, sadistic grin on his face.

Maka looked up. "Dad, can you go hide all the knives and scissors please?"

Spirit was thinking the exact same thing, smiling before disappearing into the kitchen. "Sure thing."

"You people are no fun." Stein began twisting the screw in his head. "I've never had the opportunity…to dissect a Shinigami before…"

Maka blinked, not knowing what he meant. "Shinigami?"

"Don't tell me you don't know what Kid actually is," Stein was looking for a response, but got none. He sighed, "Kid isn't human, well not fully-human anyway. He's a race called Shinigami."

"Does that make Lord Death a Shinigami too?" Soul asked, leaning back into the sofa.

"Correct, he's a prime example," Stein stated, pondering for a moment. "Shinigami's are said to have Godly powers…you all were lucky enough to witness a Shinigami's full power up close."

Maka wondered what he meant. "You mean Lord Death?"

"No…" Stein paused. The screw clicked into place to give more impact to his next words: "The Kishin Asura."

"What?!" Maka jumped forward. "_That _was a Shinigami? That thing is the same as Kid?!"

Soul was just as astounded. He couldn't help but look Kid over—he looked just as human as anyone else. "There's no way Kid can be that powerful!"

"The Kishin's power was fuelled by the huge amounts of madness leaking into the world, so he was quite…over-powered. But a Shinigami can reach that level of power, yes," Stein poked at Kid once more, his desire for opening up the boy yet to be satisfied. "Kid, as of now, is incomplete. He isn't a true Shinigami…not yet."

"Woah." Maka almost couldn't believe Kid could be that powerful. He was talented yes, but she had always just assumed it was because of his bloodline. She hadn't realised Kid was a race considered to be Gods.

"The Shinigami and Witch spawn…actually I wouldn't mind opening up Crona too," Stein chuckled.

Soul only rolled his eyes. "That's if the black blood will allow you to get that far."

"If you touch him, I will kill you!" Maka growled at him, causing a strange bout of wind to erupt.

But it wasn't Maka that caused it. Everyone sat looking at each other, about to question it, until it happened again, but this time it didn't end: it was ten times as strong. Stein shielded his eyes, it was like a mini-hurricane had struck the room. He tried to watch as he could see Kid's eyes open, those eyes unnaturally glowing a bright blue.

Spirit ran in to see pictures and objects being thrown around the room, sometimes into Soul, Stein and Maka. The glass in the windows burst due to the pressure, scattering shards to the floor.

"Maka!" He cried, running in and shielding his daughter before a clock almost hit her. It bounced and landed by Crona instead.

"Crona!" Maka cried, struggling against her father's protective grip.

"Don't touch him!" Stein yelled against the wind, which was starting to push him across the room. "It's too dangerous!"

"What the hell is going on?!" Soul yelled too, considering turning into weapon form so objects had less area to hit him.

Stein looked once more to Kid, seeing a sight he never believed he would witness in his lifetime.

"I can't believe it. It-It…It's the Lines of Sanzu!" A legendary appendage, Kid's soul was projecting itself outward, shielding both him and Crona. Yet the physical monstrosity was being revealed on the outside, the Lines of Sanzu connecting in Kid's erupting soul, one line already connected, the second drawing near. He realised just how much danger they were all in. "We need to leave _now!_ Kid's going to tear the house apart!"

Soul reached out and took Stein's hand, pulling him to the doorway.

Spirit lifted Maka, but she thrashed. She screamed and punched, but Spirit didn't listen, running down the stairs and exciting the house. "No! We have to get Crona! Put me down!"

Once outside the wind became weaker. Stein tried to calm Maka, "You can't get Crona. Wherever he is, he's with Kid's soul. Separating them now, if possible, could kill them both."

"But—"

Spirit hugged her. "Don't worry Maka, he'll be okay."

"Stein, do you know what the hell is going on?" Soul asked, his heart still beating fast and strong.

"It's the Lines of Sanzu, a power given to Kid by his father. I hear this also happened in the fight against the Kishin, but they didn't fully connect." He fixed his glasses and lab coat before continuing, "I believe we are witnessing the birth of a new Shinigami."

They all stood and watched as Kid's soul was projected further, soon engulfing and protecting the majority of the house. Two lines had connected, and as the third drew near, the wind died down. They all waited with baited breath, their eyes never leaving that third line as it finally made contact with itself.

Deadly silence followed. Then, a shockwave, strong enough to push them all over, burst forth. A flash of light blinded them. It was a few long minutes before it died down, and Kid's soul subsided.

"Did they fail to connect again?" Stein muttered, his pained eyes trying to focus.

Maka broke free of her father's grip, running into the house.

"Maka!" Soul called, running after her.

Maka wasn't listening. She didn't care: not about the house, not about the danger, she only wanted to make sure Crona was unharmed. She ran into the room, finding Kid awake and upright, coughing viciously, while Crona was still unconscious.

She ran over, cupping the purple haired boy's face as his eyes began to flutter open. Only then did she turn her attention to Kid. "Kid, what happened?"

"Ugh," Kid groaned. He sniffed, tasting blood on the back of his tongue, his whole body stiff and painful. "I-I don't know…" He suddenly remembered where he had been, and looked to his side. "Is Crona alright?"

Crona slowly sat up, feeling odd, not quite himself…but not in a bad way either.

"What about you, Kid? You started yelling and I-I didn't know what to do." He shivered, his body filled with the memory of Kid in horrific pain.

"I'm fine, I believe," Kid said, his voice hoarse. He smiled at Crona, but the boy only seemed to stare at him. Crona's eyes were wide, confused. "What is it?"

"Kid…" He mouthed. "Y-Your hair, it's…symmetrical."

Kid only laughed, "I know it isn't, you don't have to tease me for it." But Crona only shook his head.

"No, really." Crona pointed. "The stripes are all the way round now."

Kid's face quickly changed from happiness to fear. He gripped his hair lightly, jumping up and running out the room, stumbling, using the walls for support until reaching the bathroom. Holding his weight on the sink, he glared into the water stained mirror. His eyes grew wide as he was met with an unexpected sight: his signature, white half-stripes, the Lines of Sanzu, now stained his hair three-sixty.

He started to hyperventilate. Panicked, twisting and turning, he desperately looked for a missing section, a fraction, a hair out of place, but found nothing. The realisation quickly seeped in.

"Oh God..." His voice shaking madly, his eyes beginning to water. "…_Father._"


	7. Cracks in White Lines

It had been three whole days since Crona had last seen Kid. The reaper had ran off, mumbling a desperate chant of denial, not allowing anyone to get in his way. After that, nothing. A few hours later, Maka was informed that her father, Dr. Stein, and the majority of head staff and Death Weapons had been called to the DWMA. They haven't returned since then.

On the second day, Crona had felt slightly off. He had an ache in his back, but Ragnarok failed to appear. He had confided in Maka, who was very supportive, but he could tell she was concerned about her father, so Crona decided to figure it out on his own.

At night he crept out of the house and decided to go hunting, hunting for Kishin eggs. The threat of danger would be sure to pull Ragnarok out on instinct, he hoped. He slunk around the back alleys of Death City for a while, then wandered to the suburbs, followed by the local park, and then finally found one in a small housing complex. It was small and almost half animal, but also half weapon. It darted around, crazed.

Crona stood in defence, mentally calling to Ragnarok, and thankfully he replied. Unfortunately, it caused him to wail in agony. Ragnarok burst from his skin, forming new muscly arms and a bigger, stronger body. Crona shuddered while glancing back at Ragnarok's huge physique. "R-Ragnarok?! When did you become this big?"

Flexing and stretching, Ragnarok chuckled, his voice deeper, "I'm back baby! This is too sweet. Check it out! Ya' baby, I'm powerful again."

Ragnarok was right, he had returned to his original, large form…maybe even bigger.

Crona quivered. "I'm not sure if I can deal with your weight."

Ragnarok blinked. "O' right, I wanna check out my weapon form anyways!"

He transformed into a large sword, deadly sharp. Crona twisted the blade in his hands, having Ragnarok like this was so familiar. "Where did you disappear too, Ragnarok? I haven't seen you in days."

"Says the guy that was keeping me prisoner, you were holdin' me back!" Ragnarok spat, clearly angry.

_I held you back?_ Crona mentally questioned. He'd never had any major control over Ragnarok like that, so he wondered if it was because of his illness, or his mood.

"I'm sorry," He apologised nonetheless, tightening his grip on the sword handle. "Would you help me kill this thing?"

"That puny thin'? No problem!" Ragnarok laughed.

Crona smiled, and then charged. He ran until he flinched at the sound of close-range shooting. He stopped dead, watching as the mini-demon died with a cry and its soul emerged—glowing a violent red. Crona blinked, he hadn't even gotten close. But if it wasn't him, then who—

"Patty you take that one, you don't have enough."

Crona's heart jumped, he knew that voice: it was Kid. Kid jumped in, wearing his reaper's cape and a skull mask atop his hair. Crona's jaw was slack, he wanted so desperately to call out to Kid, but he couldn't. There was an intense friction coming from the reaper, almost like lightning. Kid took the Kishin egg and jumped away without a word, as if Crona was invisible, but he almost suspected that Kid hadn't seen him. As he jumped away, Crona caught a short glimpse of his eyes. They were dead, not bronze, and not even copper…they were soulless. There wasn't anything there. Kid wasn't there.

…

On the fourth day, the DWMA was re-opened, originally closed for unknown reasons. Everyone attended, the students joyful and ready to learn, but the teachers seemed vague, drawn out, even unhappy. Around midday, all students were gathered in the main lobby, all gossiping and chatting, rumours of an announcement spreading like wildfire.

"Hey, Crona."

Crona spun around, spotting Maka in the midst of strangers. "Oh, hey Maka."

"You don't know what's going on, do you? I was in the middle of an exam," She sighed, rubbing at her temple.

"I know right? What perfect timing," Soul snickered, glad to be out of that dull classroom.

Crona innocently shook his head. "No, I-I hear there's going to be an announcement."

As if on cue, Sid walks in and ushers the crowd to, word-for-word, shut up. All eyes turn to the one announcer above their heads, baring three speakers. It lay dormant for almost too long as everyone stared with baited breath, until finally, it spoke.

**"…Good afternoon."**

Crona's eyes went wide, and Maka verbally confirmed his suspicion. It sounded like Kid.

**"…For the past three days…I have gathered enough souls, plus two witch souls…to create my own Death Weapons."**

Maka gasped quietly, utterly astounded.

"Liz and Patty," She mouthed; she couldn't believe they had become Death Weapons in just three days.

**"I completed this task, for a very specific reason…"**

Crona couldn't move. He just stared at the speakers, imagining Kid quivering on the other side of the microphone. It was barely noticeable, but he could hear Kid's voice crack and shake.

**"As I regret to inform you, of some…tragic news…"**

There was a pause, long enough to make everyone on edge. Everyone knew this was truly serious.

**"…That Lord Death, my father…has ****_passed away_****."**

"Oh Gods!" Maka squealed, raising her hand to her mouth to cover her whimper. Yells and cries echoed through the lobby, half of the student's falling to their knees.

Crona remained standing, but inside he fell apart. As others cried for their lost leader, all he could think about was Kid, and the hell he must be going through.

**"I know this is sudden, but please calm down. I know, that as a united nation, we can get through this…I hope I can become half the leader my father was."**

Lies. Crona could feel his words were tainted, he was crumbling. After the speaker was shut off, it left the lobby in a state of shock, and inner panic. Some wailed, most cried, a few prayed. Crona turned to Maka, who was wiping away her tears. In a moment of sympathy, he did her job for her, and gave her an embrace in response. As she cried on his shoulder, Crona could see Soul, hiding his face, but clearly distressed. Everyone had lost something so dear to them.

"School is now closed for today, everyone can head home," Sid called out, his voice deep and depressed as well.

Some, including Crona, Maka and Soul, left, however many stayed behind in remembrance. Crona escorted Maka out, who was still clinging to him.

"Where do you want to go?" He spoke softly, also disheartened by the ordeal, but more so for Maka's emotional state.

Maka sniffed, "I-I just want to go home."

So they walked, and almost as if the city cried too, it began to rain. Rain fell lightly, it feeling warm, so serene. It clouded their minds, left them in a numb haze, as they never even comprehended the journey home. Once Crona opened the front door, he found Spirit waiting on the other side. He allowed Maka to leave his side to leap into her father's arms.

"D-Did you know about this?" Maka cried, clinging tightly to her father's shirt.

Spirit sighed and petted her lightly. He then gestured to them. "Come in, all of you."

Soul scratched at his damp hair before he huffed, "I'll put the kettle on."

Crona stepped in and took a seat, waiting for Spirit to begin a presumed explanation as Soul gave out warm cups of hot chocolate.

"It's true," Spirit began, referring to the announcement. He pushed a finger in-between his eyebrows, feeling an imminent headache creep up. "All of it…is the truth."

Soul laid his head in his hand, unable to fathom the most simple of thoughts. "How did this even happen?"

"Stein said it was something to do with what happened when Kid was here," Spirit explained, not able to remember Stein's exact words "The Lines of Sanzu?"

Crona tensed, remembering back to four days ago. His mouth went dry, realising just what Stein had meant.

"…He killed his father," Crona muttered, shaking violently.

"The hell?!" Soul grappled Crona by the throat. "Don't say shit like that!"

"He's right," Spirit confirmed, getting looks of despair from his child and her partner.

There was a pause as Soul released Crona. No one could believe this was truly happening.

"H-How is Kid?" Crona dared to ask, knowing full well he would be in the deepest pit of his own mental hell.

"I'm not sure," Spirit confessed. "I, Stein and the other weapons were so busy trying to get a witch's soul, I never had any extended contact with Kid. He was out hunting Kishin eggs."

Crona thought back to the other night, when Kid had stolen his kill and then ran off: he must've needed every soul he could get his hands on, no matter how small.

"Well," Spirit began as he stood, his joints dully clicking into place. "We've arranged a memorial outside the DWMA for tonight, I ask that you all come along and pay your respects." And with that, he slunk out the room, leaving the children in a state of disarray.

Maka most of all. She hung her head in shame, feeling a bout of self-blame. She was the one who defeated the Kishin: she had fought through her pain and desperation, through the madness, just because she could see the light of hope on the other side. But now she felt it was all for nothing, having been unable to protect such a humble, brave man, one who hadn't deserved to die. For her, for Soul, for the entirety of students at the DWMA, they had known Lord Death since they were children. Lord Death was the reason for who she was today. He had always been there, always, just a phone call away, to spur her on, to give her hope, to make her brave. And now he was gone, and the phone was left ringing.

Soul rose with a shallow grunt, itching at his ear. He stepped away, leaving Maka to catch up. "I guess we should head out, too."

Crona was about to follow, until he noticed Maka hadn't moved from her sulk. He wandered over, allowing his fingertips to lie on her shoulder for support as she wiped her eyes once more. She then stood, giving him a gentle hug.

"Okay," Maka snivelled. "Let's get going."

…

It was midnight, a full moon, which for once wasn't laughing in the sky, but quietly crying along with the people glowing under his light. The stars mirrored the flickering embers of lonely candles, placed alongside flowers and notes at the top of the stairs leading to the DWMA. People came and went, leaving their condolences, their prayers down on the floor, all for one man. The entirety of Death City gathered to mourn him.

Crona's dim eyes searched the dark windows of the DWMA, searching for the slightest inkling of life within it's now cold walls.

"Hey Crona."

He jolted, turning around to find Maka. His weak smile didn't reach his eyes as Maka stepped by him, close enough to feel her radiating body heat.

"Strange choice of flowers," She lowly chuckled.

Crona glanced down at the small bouquet in his hand, slightly bent from holding them too tightly. They were a collection of dainty yellow flowers: tulips, daffodils and orchids. "They represent hope."

He had only assumed such a thing, for he didn't really know about flowers, and he guessed that Maka didn't either. Maka smiled softly at the gesture, after all it's the thought that counts.

"That's sweet…" She paused, following Crona's gaze. "They're for him, aren't they?"

"Hmm?" Crona blinked, not hearing and not understanding. He was too busy looking up at the building.

Maka clicked her fingers, catching the attention of a few strangers until they looked away. Finally, Soul stepped by her side.

"I'm not a dog," He growled.

"Weapon mode please?"

Soul huffed, questioning why he should do anything on command, but figured Maka wasn't in the mood for disagreement, so he did so.

Maka spun Soul in her hand, before she leapt over the display of flowers and candles without a word, straight to the DWMA's front door. Carefully sliding Soul's blade up the gap, the snapping sound of every lock coming undone could be heard. Maka then spun on her heel, gaze fixed on Crona.

"There," She called out to Crona, who seemed stunned. "What are you waiting for?!"

Crona stood, but unlike his usual instincts, he didn't question it—he simply just went for it. He ran, ran passed Maka, her words hitting his ear as he rushed by.

"Go get him." She grinned, closing the door behind Crona, and then guarding it. She glanced up, noticing a few people staring. She hissed, "What? I'm just helping out a friend!"

"A crush," Soul interrupted.

"Shut up!" Maka hissed again.

Crona was running through the corridors, unsure of his destination, just letting his feet take him to wherever they wanted to go. Up flights of stairs he sped: sprinting to the top, to the edge, to a familiar, small, abandoned classroom.

Summoning Ragnarok straight into blade mode, and shoving it into the gap as Maka had done, he wrenched the door open. He smashed into the pitch-black room. However, although he couldn't see, he could somehow sense a presence, and that person's general location in the dark. He slammed the flowers into his chest, throwing what he knew was Kid against the wall.

Kid was wide-eyed with shock, for he hadn't even heard the intrusion. Next thing he knew, Crona had punched him in the chest. After bouncing off the wall, he clutched his chest lightly and flicked on the dim light bulb. Crona's eyes were locked on his; they were full of anger, but also watering with sadness.

"H-How the hell did you find me?" Kid stammered, choking slightly.

Crona stepped back, scratching his neck. "Err…I'm not sure."

Crona chuckled as Kid raised an eyebrow. The light provided little to see with, but Crona could see enough to tell that Kid was in bad shape. Silence passed them momentarily, neither knowing what to say. Until, of course, Crona caught the tell-tale glimmer of yellow petals in his hands.

"Oh," He muttered, pushing his bouquet into Kid's chest once more. "These are for you, but they're a little bent, sorry."

Kid glanced down, taking the flowers and straightening the stems. "They're fine, thank you."

Crona huffed, feeling a rush of frustration, and all of sudden raised a flat palm. It rose to hit Kid's face, promising a hard slap. And yet, it slowed down as his anger faltered, merely becoming a little tap against the other's cheek.

Kid blinked, rubbing his cheek. "What was that for?"

Crona shrugged, wanting to desperately lash out…but he couldn't. He wanted Kid to react, to show him emotion. He didn't want Kid to hold it in anymore. "I was going to hit you, b-but I stopped half-way."

"Well then," Kid sighed. Crona was truly hopeless, and confusing, he couldn't read him at all. "If you're going to hit me, then do it properly."

Crona quickly shook his head. "I won't."

Kid watched Crona's mannerisms with tired eyes, he was conflicting himself. "But you almost did a second ago."

"Mn," Crona hummed a yes. "Because I…" He sighed, unable to gather the words, then he realised he didn't need words. Crona stepped forward slowly and latched onto Kid's collar, walking into him, placing his forehead against Kid's right shoulder with a sigh.

Kid placed a twitching hand against Crona's back. He could hear his own thumping heartbeat in his ears, and could feel a churning in his gut. For unknown reasons, he swallowed, his eyes beginning to water. He cursed his vulnerability and Crona's ability to draw out his weaknesses. "What are you doing?"

Crona didn't answer, not out of arrogance, but out of respect to the silence. The silence that was causing Kid to crumble.

"Hey," Kid's voice was weaker then intended. "Crona?" He poked, but he didn't move. "Crona," He called, louder.

Crona could feel Kid shift uncomfortably, but he only stepped in closer.

"Crona!" Kid pushed, but Crona refused to move. "W-What are you doing?" He stepped back, hoping to dislodge his grasp, but nothing happened. He knew Crona was trying to help, but it was pure arrogance to ignore him. "Crona, let go."

Crona breathed deeply, having to keep his muscles rigid to not shake his head in refusal. Now he believed he had figured out what plagued Kid. It had plagued him since the day they met, now more than ever, and he was putting it to the test.

"Crona!" He hissed, his eyesight now blurred due to the water building within them. He wiped it away roughly with his knuckles. "L-Listen to me, let go," He asked. "Let go," He then commanded, but the other held on. His teeth locked together, growling, "Listen!" Then it fell to a whine "…Listen." Finally, he pushed Crona with enough force to get him to stumble backwards from his collar, and then realised Crona was the only thing keeping him standing as he crashed to his knees.

Crona could only watch as Kid doubled over, the reaper shielding his face, screaming in frustration. Kid's wails caused his heart to pound, but he still added the final words, "…You're lonely."

Kid's eyes snapped open, Crona had figured it out. He quickly turned defensive. "S-So now you talk?!"

Crona leant down, reaching for Kid, but the reaper lashed out. Crona ignored the harsh pushes and punches, shoving Kid's hands aside until their chests touched. Crona hugged Kid silently, gently rubbing his back as he sobbed.

Kid lost control. He lost the ability to control his emotions, and it all came pouring out.

_"I killed him,"_ He cried, hyperventilating. He had killed his father, the father he had once cursed but now wanted back…he'd give anything to have him back. He had caused his own father's demise, he could only dread what his father was cursing against his name in the afterlife.

Crona shushed quietly, his hand reaching up to touch Kid's hair, reminding him of that day.

"No," Crona shook his head. "You didn't."

Kid buried his head into Crona's shoulder, shaking, weeping loudly, "I-I can't do this."

Kid felt defeated. On that day, he had ran back to the DWMA in tears, soon to find his father already dead, the tall mirror by his side shattered. After that, Kid was forced to be the new leader, and it was hell on earth to see his friends and family bow at his feet.

"You have to help me, p-please," Kid sounded desperate, as if he wanted nothing more than to run away, or just to die and let it all go. In truth, he was terrified. "What if…Wh-What if word gets out, th-that it's my fault?!" He'd be killed, assassinated. Death City would fall into ruin within days, hours even. Kid couldn't do this; he wasn't cut out to be the leader of anything. "I can't fight a Kishin! I almost died last time, my father did die! If-If he couldn't kill it, h-how am I supposed to…" He trailed off, staring at his shaking palms "…I killed a witch… The other day…"

Crona shivered as Kid became not calm but depressed. He became frozen, but Crona knew that tears were falling from his eyes now more than ever.

Kid could remember it so clearly. Usually, he would regard all witches as scum, but he was ashamed to have her blood on his hands. The only fight she had put up was by her protector: a silver-haired samurai, who was dealt with quickly. Kid had not hesitated to pull the trigger, until his cold eyes had made contact with her desperate red ones "…She was defenceless…I-I just, I didn't think I…" She was a child, appearing no older than five years old. "Who does that?! I killed a _fucking child!_ Who the fuck does that?!" He screamed, lashing out, hating himself for ever pulling the trigger. He held his head. "I-I can't do this, I can't deal with this!" The stress was killing him. "I can't deal with any of it!"

Crona's eyebrows furrowed as he leaned back, disconnecting himself from Kid and seeing the mess he was in, but he didn't care what he looked like.

"You can't…_deal_ with it?" He questioned. Kid stared back at him, his bronze eyes widening with realization. Crona smiled subtly, leaning forward, placing his forehead against Kid's, gathering Kid's shaking hands together into his lap and holding them. He sighed as he could feel their touching hair begin to tangle. "You can deal with anything, because you're the one that taught me that," He reassured softly, "I'm here."

Kid sniffed, finally feeling more relaxed. "But I-I'm a Shinigami now, they're s-supposed to be immortal. My farther lived for hundreds of years! You can't—"

"I will." Crona gripped Kid's hands tighter. "You gave me my strength, my courage…I owe you everything."

Kid's eyes widened, but his position kept him from looking into Crona's determined expression. In a moment of hope, and stupidity, he questioned "…Will you spend eternity with me, then?"

They were a fool's words…but strangely romantic, in a way.

"Sure," Crona giggled, and Kid smiled in return.

"I don't feel human anymore, well actually…I don't think I'm classified as human anymore either," He chuckled, his demeanour humorous.

Crona found Kid's laughter uplifting. Being a witch's child, having the black blood, and with a demon weapon actually connected to him physically, Crona had never felt one hundred percent human. "And you think I feel any more normal?"

Kid chuckled once more "…We're both hopeless."


	8. Connection

"So, it's finally time huh?" Kid kicked the sand beneath his boots, shoving his reaper mask atop Crona's head so he didn't get sunburnt. Although it had been three weeks since his father passed away, he had recovered from his fears due to Crona, and was able to stand up and take charge. At least Death City wasn't in ruins.

"Yeah," Maka huffed, trying to kick her father from her shins, who was begging her not to go. "I want to go and explore the world, just like mum!"

"No Maka! Please don't go, please!" Spirit grovelled at her feet, ignoring her kicks.

Crona stood in silence, his eyes looking over Soul and his large motorbike, then back to Maka, who was holding in her pain. It took all his will to finally admit how he felt, "…I'll miss you."

"Me too!" BlackStar yelled, holding Soul tightly in his grip.

Maka chuckled, slowly walking over and embracing Crona. She sighed as she held him, knowing it would be months, maybe even years, before she was able to see him again, making her hold him even tighter. "I'll miss you too, Crona."

Kid's nose curled, crossing his arms and snubbing them both.

"And you!"

The reaper jumped, gold eye's snapping to Maka as he was taken by the collar.

"You better take care of Crona! You dare hurt him and I will kill you!" Maka hissed loudly.

Kid swallowed thickly, saluting and screeching a "Yes ma'am" in fear, before she roughly released him. He scratched at his neck.

"So…" She trailed off, skipping, grinning with enthusiasm. "Time for us to get going!"

"You can't take him from me!" BlackStar wailed.

"Get off me, you moron!" Soul struggled against his grip, finally breaking free and jumping on his bike. He revved the engine roughly. "C'Mon Maka, before the leech takes hold again!"

"I'll see you all again soon," Maka stated as she hopped on the back, waving wildly to her friends. Not a second later the bike sped off, with Spirit running hysterically after it.

Kid grinned as Soul briefly turned his head to give him a thumbs up, to which he returned the gesture.

Crona waved until they were gone from sight, then just stared for a while. A part of him couldn't believe that Maka and Soul were both gone, yet he knew they would return one day…and he would be waiting. He continued to stare until he heard Kid clear his throat.

"We should get going too." Kid summoned his skateboard to his side, surprised when Crona jumped on first, but he too stepped on without hesitation.

"Hey, hey wait! How am I supposed to get back?!" BlackStar asked, looking at the vast desert they were in.

Kid shrugged. Gesturing towards a weeping Spirit, he replied as he flew away, "That's your problem, how about you ask him?"

"Hey!" BlackStar called, but Kid wasn't listening. He huffed and turned to Spirit. "So, I'm guessing we go this way! In fact, I'm not even guessing, I _know_ we should go this way!"

BlackStar was beaming, impressed with his natural instincts. Spirit only sniffed, his eyes following BlackStar's outstretched arm, one which was pointing in an odd direction. "S-Shouldn't we just follow the direction Kid left in?"

BlackStar burst into laughter, "Follow Kid? I'd rather throw away my name than follow in his shadow! Onward!"

"Hey, wait!" Spirit hastily jumped to his feet, BlackStar marching away.

He knew that, unless he was able to persuade BlackStar, they were both going to be stuck in this desert for days.

…

"Crona…" Kid suddenly took Crona's wrist upon landing, tugging at him. He spoke in a hushed tone, dragging Crona into the DWMA, "I need to talk to you, in private."

"What is it?" Crona asked, completely clueless of what was going on.

"Something happened when I was hunting for kishin eggs a few weeks ago," He explained on the way, running up the stairs. "Patty and Liz didn't like it very much." He chuckled under his breath, recalling them freaking out the first time.

"Aren't they Death Weapons now?" Crona asked, being thrown into their usual hiding spot at the top of the DWMA.

"Indeed," Kid said with a grin, but it fell from his face just as quickly as it had appeared. "But it wasn't that, Crona I think…" He swallowed, calming himself, holding Crona by the shoulders. His next words sounded almost nervous: "I think…we're connected."

Crona's eyebrow rose, his big eyes full of questions. Kid had a wild look of both excitement and fear; Crona wondered if he should be concerned.

"Remember back when we took care of your mother?"

Crona nodded.

"Well, I was inside your soul, and at the same time my soul changed shape with the whole…" He paused and rustled his own hair. "With the whole Lines of Sanzu thing."

Crona listened, not knowing what any of this meant.

"I believe that…I may have permanently…_linked_ our souls together by accident," He chuckled nervously, intertwining his fingers to better explain what he meant.

Crona's eyes widened. "H-How? How is that possible?"

Kid shrugged. "No clue, but I assume it's like how my father sewed his soul to Death City. Mine is now sewn to yours and vice-versa."

"Are you sure?" Crona couldn't wrap his head around it. Kid nodded.

"Well, I honestly wouldn't have believed it either, unless I had some sort of way to prove it…"

Kid raised his hand and bit down harshly on the tip of his thumb, snapping the skin and allowing black blood to drip out. He knew that the black blood carried small amounts of madness with it—if you fall prey to the blood you can be swallowed by it completely. "See? This is why Liz and Patty had trouble with being my weapons. They couldn't handle the black blood."

Crona couldn't believe it. Kid now had black blood, and what he was explaining was beginning to seem true.

"I'd like you to help me control it like you do." The reaper smiled, imagining what he could do with this new power.

Crona only shook his head. "I don't do that, Ragnarok does though."

Kid smirked as the black beast rose in response, but was surprised when he had to tilt his head further back than usual.

"Erm…" Kid was lost for words. "Have you gotten a little…larger?"

"Yep!" Ragnarok laughed, flexing his arms. "I'm big again!"

Crona looked up to Ragnarok. "He got this big after that day with mother. I can even control him better now." Crona demonstrated by making him become his sword, then summoning him back inside his body.

"So, this must also be a side effect. You might've taken some of my power with you, just as I took your black blood," Kid pondered aloud as he placed a hand on his chin. He then sighed, seeming to grow disheartened. "But you might've also taken something else…"

Crona stepped forward, placing a hand on Kid's shoulder, assuring him that it was okay.

"A Shinigami is supposed to be immortal: my father lived for hundreds of years, we don't simply die from old age, and we can survive the most fatal attacks." Kid looked at Crona, gaze apologetic. "I fear that I might've…given you that same ability."

He cursed himself, for despite him asking on the night of his father's memorial, he had never actually intended to drag Crona through eternity with him. Crona only smiled at him gently.

"That's okay." Kid looked up with a surprised expression, but Crona was rather unfazed. "That means I get to keep my promise…I can deal with that."

Kid couldn't believe Crona's acceptance of such an ordeal.

"Well, we're kind of stuck together," He chuckled, feeling better knowing that Crona was fine with the concept of staying by his side. He blushed slightly, knowing he wanted Crona by his side, forever, and without thinking he leant forward. He held the timid male by the forearm, holding him as he tentatively lowered his lips to meet Crona's own.

"Mn!" Crona voiced his shock, going rigid as Kid closed his eyes. Crona failed to take in Kid's warmth as he stepped away, stumbling and awkward, his face turning bright red. "O-Oh I, err—"

"Sorry I—" Kid held out a hand, then used it to scratch his neck as he felt his cheeks begin to burn. "I-I didn't know what I was doing, I just kind of…yeah…" He didn't have the words.

Crona straightened himself, his eyes glancing at Kid who was beginning to leave, who was muttering a word of apology as he opened the door.

"Wait!" Crona called, pulling at the back of Kid's collar, forcing Kid to turn around and close the door. He demanded quietly, "Try again."

"W-What?" Kid stuttered as he staggered, shifting as Crona latched onto him.

"Try again!" Crona ordered a little louder, his determination showing.

"When did you become so pushy?" Kid mumbled, but smiled. He did as Crona asked, laying his lips gently atop the other's ones. He found the lips were cold and thin, but he didn't mind, he just enjoyed the embrace.

Crona forced himself not to flinch, scrunching his eyes shut until Kid drew back. He breathed a sharp sigh of nerves after the quick separation.

"Okay?" Kid raised an eyebrow, since Crona looked as if he was about to lose consciousness.

Crona swallowed thickly, quickly nodding.

Kid rubbed at his cheeks, lightly clearing his throat. "We are truly hopeless."

"Mn," Crona hummed in agreement, and then smiled, burying his head in Kid's chest. "We can be hopeless together, then."

"Well," Kid huffed, holding Crona close. "_You_ can be hopeless, I'll be an amazing purebred Shinigami!" He reached out an arm to point to the sky. "Lord Kid and sword master Crona! We'll be known throughout the ages." Laughing, he knew without a doubt he would be happy with that.

Crona giggled, muttering softly, "I think I can deal with that…"


End file.
